


The sun in his eyes

by Oslove_AZ



Category: SKAM (Italy)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Borderline Personality Disorder, Coming Out, Fluff, M/M, Mentions of Mental Illness, Shirtless Nico, Summer Vacation, Summer Vibes, a lot of teasing is involved, i contrabbandieri is going to the beach, it's sweet with just a tiny bit of angst, poor Marti has no chance against him, summer encounter, they meet a group of boys
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2019-07-27
Packaged: 2020-04-07 23:50:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 29,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19095487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oslove_AZ/pseuds/Oslove_AZ
Summary: I contrabbandieri goes camping for a few days once they're done with school. All Martino wanted was to relax and be a careless teenager for a few days. He had no idea that he would fall in love in the process. On their first day of lounging on the beach they meet a group of boys and play beach volley with them. They hit it off immediately and spend the rest of their vacation together. The problem is that one of them is the most beautiful boy in the planet and Martino can't help but falling for his green eyes and his sunshine smile.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I am a little nervous with this one as it's my first fic. I hope you will enjoy it and please don't hesitate to tell me what you think in the comments. Any feedback is appreciated !   
> I had this idea for a Nicotino summer encounter that I couldn't get out of my head. I really miss them right now so I guess it's my way of coping ! Anyway I really enjoy writing the contrabbandieri even though it's quite the challenge. I also created three original characters to be Nico's best friends. In this universe Nico didn't transfer schools and just graduated high school.   
> The beginning of the first chapter is about setting up the context, so please push through for more engaging content.  
> Disclaimers: English isn't my first language, I apologize for any mistakes. I also apologize for any inaccuracies as I am not Italian.

It’s fair to say that it hadn’t been easy for Martino to convince his mom to let him go on vacation with the boys, but she finally caved in, after several conversations and one long speech from Gio exposing the different benefits of a friends’ gateway to the beach. It’s not that Martino’s mom didn’t trust Martino or the boys to be on their own, it’s mostly that she didn’t like the idea of being alone in the house for days. Martino knew that, which is why he convinced her to take this opportunity to visit her sister for a few days, this way it would be a nice getaway for them both. And of course, Martino would call her everyday to tell her all about their trip.

A month prior, Gio had proposed to go camping during the summer break, just the four of them together, Elia, Luchino and Marti. Gio had broken up with Sofia not so long before, which might be what prompted the idea of the getaway. Turned out all four boys could use some clean coastal air and to just chill under the sun for a few days. Their fourth year of high school had been exhausting for all of them, and one thing that’s for sure is that their fifth and final year wouldn't be any easier. They might as well enjoy themselves while they could. Martino was particularly grateful for this opportunity to be a careless teenager for a few days, to be completely rid of any responsibilities. As much as he loved his mom, with her good and bad days, he did have to put on adult shoes more so than the average teenager which tended to be tiresome. Martino and his mom had managed to find a balance, they’d learned how to live without his dad by now and their relationship was now stronger than ever before, but even so Martino sometimes felt like there was a huge weight on his shoulders.

The boys decided on Fregene for their trip as it’s a short train ride away from Rome, is known to attract many young Italians due to its many bars and clubs, and on top of it is a relatively cheap destination for poor high schoolers like them. And as Luchino said: “I’m sure it’s full of pretty girls. We’ll have the time of our lives guys”. Even though Martino couldn’t care less if there were pretty girls there or not, he sure was looking forward to those few days at the beach with his friends.

The thing is that Martino had come to terms with the fact that he was attracted to boys, and boys only, a few months prior. He just couldn’t lie to himself anymore, not when it took everything for him to try and pretend that he was even remotely attracted to Emma. No really, he just decided there was no point in putting up this façade for himself anymore. That’s the conclusion he came to after taking a quiz to assess his gayness (the results were complete bullshit by the way) – turns out if you take a quiz to know if you’re gay, there is a 99.9% chance that you’re gay, or bi, or pan, or anything else that isn’t straight. Just deal with it. Martino dealt with it, in fact he felt pretty good about it, even better now that his feelings for Gio seemed to be a memory of the past. He hadn't told any of the boys yet though, he hadn’t told anyone for that matter. He was too afraid of what their reaction might be, and he valued their friendship way too much to risk losing them. He didn’t know what he would do if he didn’t get to spend most of his useless afternoons with his three best friends.

This was the exact thought that crossed Martino’s mind while he looked at his friends on the train to Fregene. Gio was telling a story excitedly with his hands, while Luchino laughed loudly at all of his jokes and interrupted him with dumb questions which meant Gio had to tell the story from the beginning again since apparently Luchino didn’t understand any of it. Elia was looking at them both and shaking his head at their antics. As for Martino, he was thinking about how grateful he was that these three were in his life. Gio noticed that Martino was staring at them without saying anything, he looked back at him with a question in his eyes, probably wondering what waq in Marti’s mind like the mom friend he was. Martino tried to convey through his eyes that he was fine, that he was just glad to be going on this trip with them and taking his mind off things. The curly haired boy seemed satisfied with the response in Martino’s eyes and resumed babbling about some adventure he had. After an hour and a half spent talking, listening to music, playing games, they arrived to their destination. It was near midday when they checked into the campsite and set up their tent. The campsite seemed pretty chill, it had a pool, a snack bar and basically everything you would expect from the place. They decided not to lose any time and went straight to the beach as soon as they were done setting up. The four boys wore huge smiles on top of their light shirts, swimming trunks, flip flops and sunglasses. When they stepped foot on the sand, Martino's first instinct was to take a deep breath, the smell of iodine and sun cream invading his nostrils. They all looked around them, at the people lying around sunbathing, at the people playing beach games, at the sun rays hitting the sea creating millions of crystalline reflections. They then looked at each other and grinned widely, summer vacation was officially on.

“Alright let’s find a spot to lay down and show off our athletic bodies guys!” taunted Elia.

“You mean show off our belly rolls,” Gio laughed back, “Boccia was right, we should have been more dedicated in PE. Woah, I didn’t think I would ever say this, but I almost miss the guy.”

“Me too honestly, bro. We should have brought him and his husband with us, they could help us get into shape,” Marti added.

“Wait why are we talking about Boccia right now?” Luchino Interrupted. “Let’s go find that spot, we’re not allowed to talk about anything related to school, that’s the rule!”

“There aren’t any rules Luchi, we’re just joking,” Gio retorted. “Actually, the only rule is that there aren’t any rules.”

“That’s fine by me. Let’s go” concluded Elia. They started walking as one after taking off their flip flops and soon realized the sand was painfully hot for their bare feet. They put their flip flops back on as fast as they could when their feet couldn't take the scorching heat anymore and headed off again.

They ended up spreading their beach towels near a cabin that sold drinks and snacks, and just in front of a net where you could play beach volley. It was the perfect spot for their starving stomachs, and also for people-watching (because who doesn’t people-watch at the beach – people who are blind that’s who). Luchino didn’t waste one second before rushing to the snack bar to get food into his craving belly. The three boys followed suit not long after. They were eating their snacks on their towels, shirts off, fan-shaped feet, when a group of boys approached the beach volley court. They were a group of four guys who seemed to be around the same age as them. One of them was dark-skinned and super athletic, looking like the type of guy that goes to the gym several times a week and likes to preach the virtues of maintaining a healthy body. The one next to him was much less built, sporting what looked like a bad sunburn on his upper back. He had brown hair and wore prescription glasses which gave him a bit of a nerdy look. The third one seemed super chill while looking quite confident, his posture indicating that one would have to try really hard for him to get riled up. But the one that caught Marti’s attention the most was the fourth one, a dark-haired boy with a blinding smile. Seriously he’d never seen a smile so wide and bright in his life. And…oh well, the boy also happened to be ripped so there was that. But Martino couldn't help but staring at his face, his smile, his green eyes, his curls that fell over his eyes. Martino suddenly realized that he’d been staring for far too long and tried to snap out of it. He looked over at the boys next to him, who were also staring at the group of boys in front of them. Martino dared to glance one more time at wide smile boy, which confirmed to him he was just as beautiful and breathtaking as he first thought. Martino was well aware he shouldn’t let himself get too invested into a stranger who was most likely straight, but at this moment all his mind was telling him was that there was nothing wrong with a little bit of harmless staring from afar. Suddenly a voice broke his reverie:

“It would be cool to play some beach volley while we’re here, what do you think guys? Get our bodies moving a little bit?” Elia asked.

“Yeah maybe,” replied Gio, looking a little bit bothered.

“All I can think of right now is how I wished it were girls playing in front of us,” Luchino interjected.

Martino realized that girls volleyball players had to be the last thing Gio wanted to think about in this instant. “Hey Luchino, stop being a perv will you, we could play after they’re done.”

Gio looked at him surprised, seeming invigorated again, “sounds like a good idea Marti, I’m proud of you for actually agreeing to get up and move your body to play _real life_ sports. You like to brag about how you’re winning me in FIFA, but you won’t be bragging for long when it comes to this.”

Elia and Luchino snickered while Martino rolled his eyes at that comment. Then, Elia's face lit up, “wait, why don’t we ask the boys if we can play with them, they’re only four, we could play four to four, that’s much better.”

 Luchino didn't seem convinced, “did you look at them? Two of them look like they could be fitness coaches, like it shouldn’t be legal to be this ripped, we would get crashed in seconds.”

“Well yeah with you in our team that’s for sure,” retorted Gio, “but come on, it’ll be fun, and muscles don’t mean anything when it comes to volley, maybe they suck at it as bad as us”. Right as Gio finished his sentence, a ball rolled to Martino’s feet. Looks like the boys had started playing while they were chatting. The dark-skinned boy picked up the ball and looked over at them - they probably looked like deers caught in flashlights.

“Ciao,” the guy greeted, “sorry for the ball.”

Gio was the first one to recover, “hey no problem, actually we were talking of joining you guys for a match, what do you think?” With all of this Martino had almost forgotten of wide smile boy, almost being the key word. He was conflicted between wanting to be as far from him as possible so as not to embarrass himself and wanting to get to know the person behind the warm smile. Truthfully, he didn’t think showing off his non-existent real life sports skills would play in his favor as a first introduction, but it was too late to back off now.

Dark skinned boy now had a name, Amir, he seemed really nice, and he introduced them to the other three boys: Aurelio (the laid-back one), Stefano (the one with glasses) and… Niccolò. Niccolò was the name of the most beautiful boy Martino had laid his eyes on. Martino greeted him as calmly as he could manage, trying not to show how affected he was by the boy. He was caught off guard by the way Niccolò looked back at him, his smile seemingly even wider, even brighter, and there was something in his eyes that Martino couldn’t decipher. Martino tried to reign his expression in, however, he was pretty sure he didn’t manage to prevent the blush from creeping up his cheeks. Martino averted his eyes to try to focus on the situation at hand. Beach volley. The ball. The net. The contrabbandieri next to him. Four friendly boys on the other side of the net. Martino reminded himself not to make a big deal out of this situation, it was just a game and nothing was at stake. Just let it go, this is what this vacation is about remember?

“So, we’ll just pass the ball around at first, we’ll start counting the points once we’re warmed up, what do you say?” Amir proposed.

“Well as you probably figured out we do need a bit of a warm up, so let’s do that,” Gio replied sarcastically.

“We may look inexperienced but that’s just a trick. We’re actually going to smash you guys” added Elia. The four boys in front of them laughing in response.

“Well we’ll see about that” said Niccolò, and as he said that he turned his head to look at Martino, who wished he could be anywhere but here in this moment. He was beginning to think that agreeing to play with them was the worst idea of the century.

They started playing and admittedly they weren’t as bad as he’d thought. Amir and Aurelio were respectively strong and fast, but overall both teams were relatively even. Martino was finally able to loosen up a little, cracking jokes with the boys in between passes. He sometimes felt like there were eyes on him, but he didn’t know if it was his mind playing tricks or if it was indeed the case. Niccolò was jumping around excitedly, his smile never seeming to falter even when he missed the ball. The fact that he was a bit shorter than the other tree boys of his team was the most endearing thing. They ended up face to face at some point, looking at each other from across the net, and again his body was reacting in a way that he couldn’t control. Gio threw the ball to the other side, prompting Niccolò to jump to reception it, setting his body in motion. Martino made a mental note to thank Gio for this moment, because he was in first row to witness the way Niccolò’s muscles contracted and expanded. He got a full view of his torso, his arms, his baby blue shorts that hung low on his stomach and gave way to his sharp hip bones, his legs, his face of concentration, and… The ball that came crashing down on Martino’s face. Well he was way too engrossed into everything Niccolò to see this one coming.

“Hey Marti, are you sleeping or what??” mocked Gio, “you know you have to catch the ball with your hands, not your head, right?”

“Ahaha thank you for the reminder Gio.”

“Marti you ok? I didn’t hurt you, did I?” for the first time since Martino laid his eyes on him, Niccolò wore an expression of worry on his face, his usual excited demeanor gone. And wait… did he just call him “Marti”??

Martino reassured him right away, “No don’t worry, I’m fine”. They changed positions and Martino tried not to die from embarrassment.

The two boy squads chatted in between passes, hitting it off almost immediately. Naturally it wasn’t long before they realized they all came from Rome. Aurelio, Stefano and Amir went to university there, while Niccolò just graduated from high school and was about to start his first year of uni in September. It was clear that Niccolò didn’t want to get into the details of why he was one year behind the boys even though they were the same age. They chatted about everything and anything, mostly about the differences between high school and university, as well as their reason for being in Fregene. The boys arrived the day before to spend a few days on the beach as Aurelio happened to have a cousin who lived here, where they were staying. In just the little time that they’d known the four boys, it was evident how strong their friendship was, the bond that united them akin to the one of the contrabbandieri. It was quite obvious in the way that they shared looks, holding silent conversations, in the way that they teased each other endlessly with affectionate eyes. Even though the four boys had very distinct personalities from that of Martino, Gio, Elia and Luca, their similar dynamics was what made them click instantly, what made them feel comfortable around each other.

After over an hour of playing beach volley, Stefano shouted: “the last one in the water is the real loser”, prompting all eight boys to rush to the sea. None of the boys wanted to make the race easy for anyone, barring the way, kicking, pushing - it was a mess of legs, arms and laughter. Just as Martino was reaching the water, he felt arms enveloping him from behind preventing him from going any further. The arms that were around him felt both strong and soft on his skin, almost like their first intent were to hold rather than constrict. Not forgetting of the race, Martino managed to wiggle himself out of the grip to keep on running, almost immediately missing the sensation of the arms surrounding him. Once he was in the water, he turned around to see that the arms that enveloped him belonged to Niccolò. He was smiling his signature sunshine smile, only it was so big now it was threatening to break his face. Which would be an absolute shame considering its statuesque beauty. And he was laughing, a low and sweet sound. Martino wanted to slap himself for being so infatuated with every little thing Niccolò did.

“What exactly did you want to do Niccolò?” asked Martino with what was left of his bravery, he hoped his smile wasn’t too big, “just accept that you lost.”

“Well it was worth trying, and by the way I didn’t lose! Luca was the last one!” Niccolò replied smugly.

“I’m sorry but if you arrive second to last, the last being Luchino, that means you lost. It’s just a fact,” teased Martino.

“Oh, okay I see how it is. I didn’t see you as the merciless type Martino. It’s not like you won either,” Niccolò teased back with the cutest headshake.

“No, it’s true but…” And it’s right at that moment that Gio decided to come up behind him without making a sound and to drown him. When Martino came back to the surface he wanted nothing but to murder Gio. He went after him to try and drown him as a reprisal, but he was stronger than him and managed to drown him a second time. Martino came back up again, his hair all over the place, chocking on the sea water he swallowed. He finally dared to glance at Niccolò who looked like he was having the time of his life. Gio looked between Martino and Niccolò with a questioning look, probably wondering if he interrupted something.

“Hey Nico, don’t let those Bambi eyes of his fool you ok? He’s far from being innocent himself, trust me,” Gio told him. Martino wished he would just shut his mouth and stop embarrassing him even further. Martino was managing this well enough on this own anyway.

“Bambi eyes?” Asked Niccolò, approaching to look intensely at his eyes. “Ah yes Bambi really suits you actually,” he agreed, looking pleased with himself.

Martino felt his cheeks turning red, but still managed to get out a “don’t listen to what Gio says, I’m definitely not a Bambi.”

“I beg to differ,” responded Niccolò, looking smug yet again.

Gio was silently laughing next to Marti and then said to Nico, “I feel like we’re going to get along just well you and me.”

Martino couldn’t take it anymore, “I’m going to drown the both of you if you don’t stop talking bullshit.”

“I’d like to see you try,” challenged Niccolò. And try he did. He doesn’t know what force spurred him towards Nico and made him brave enough to try and drown him. He was touching his skin. His _naked_ wet skin. It was a mess of limbs, legs, arms intertwined, so that Martino couldn’t register which part of Nico he was touching. But he _was_ touching him. Holy shit. At some point Martino’s face ended up really close to Niccolò’s, and for a slip second their eyes met, it was such a short moment and yet so intense. Nico finally gave out under his weight and was swallowed whole by the water. When he came back up his hair messily covered his eyes and he was giggling like he couldn’t be bothered. He pushed his hair back to reveal his eyes again. Martino was mesmerized by their color, a peculiar shade of green, almost like they couldn't decide between hazel, green and blue. Martino shouldn’t be so entranced only by a pair of eyes, but he couldn’t help himself. Next to them, the rest of the boys, whom Gio had gone back to, were being loud and messy, splashing water in all directions, shouting and laughing like they had no care in the world. Martino could hear them, but it was faint, like he was hearing them from inside a secluded place. Niccolò was looking straight into his eyes and Martino wasn’t sure he knew how to speak anymore. Thankfully Niccolò was the first one to break the silence.

“For the record I could have drown you so easily, I just decided to let you do it. I didn’t want to offend Bambi,” he said mockingly, his smile never faltering, even for a second.

“Oh really? I wouldn’t be so sure about that. You’re so tiny, you wouldn’t be able to drown me.” Oh, he hadn’t lost his capacity to speak, that’s great. But did he just say that Niccolò was tiny?? He was regretting ever opening his mouth. Technically Niccolò wasn’t tiny, he was built and had defined muscles, while Martino was toned but not as built and muscly. He was however taller and broader than Niccolò who had narrow shoulders and hips. Physicality aside, his whole demeanor oozed _tiny_ , there was no denying that. Martino didn’t mean to say it out loud though, he’d rather keep this for himself. But it was too late now and Niccolò was looking at him indignantly.

“I’m sorry what? Tiny? Me? I’ll let you know I’m the master of drowning. I just didn’t want to outshine you,” he retorted.

“Is that so? ‘Cause it sounds a lot like something a tiny person would say,” and there he said it again, why couldn’t he shut his mouth?

At that moment the bubble they were in was burst by the boys coming into their vision. Aurelio and Amir started messing with Niccolò, ruffling his hair and then trying to drown him. Niccolò tried to resist but the “master” of drowning couldn’t do much against these two. Once they were done with him, Niccolò went after Amir to retaliate. He did manage to drown him after some dazzling efforts.

Martino was now surrounded by Gio, Elia and Luca who were observing the commotion. The momentum Niccolò and Martino shared was definitely lost. That’s when Luchi’s stomach decided to intervene: “hey guys I’m starving, don’t you want to get something to eat?”. They all ended up going back to their towels. Martino glanced at Niccolò who was a few steps away, engrossed in a conversation with Amir. He was looking like a Roman God gracefully making his way out of the water, with droplets on his torso and his shorts plastered on his legs. It was all too much that Martino couldn’t stare at him for too long. The group of boys settled their beach towels next to the contrabbandieri’s. There was some sort of silent agreement that the two boy squads had adopted each other and didn’t want to go their separate ways. Martino was laying down on his towel, face up, when his eyes caught those of Niccolò’s who was still standing. They stared at each other for a few seconds longer than socially acceptable. Martino recalled their moment in the water and started wondering if there might be more to it than friendly banter, but he knew he was venturing into dangerous territory and tried to drown the thought as soon as it emerged, the same way he had physically drowned Niccolò, without much of a second thought.

“Hey, do you guys like to smoke? We brought some good weed that we could share,” Aurelio proposed.

“Ahh yes, you’re saving us, we didn’t bring any,” responded Elia. Gio and Luca looked at Aurelio like Christmas came early.

“Well we thought we’d celebrate as it’s just us boys you know. No girls on our backs telling us what to do and all that,” added Aurelio.

“Yeah, no Maddalena in sight,” Stefano snickered. His three best friends looked at him with a knowing look. It seemed to be an inside joke, and it got Martino curious.

“Who’s Maddalena?” he asked.

“My ex-girlfriend,” Niccolò answered straight away in a stern voice. He wasn’t looking at Martino when he said it. When he finally did there was something foreign in his eyes, a distance that Martino had never seen before. It took him a while to register the information. An ex-girlfriend. A girlfriend. A _girl_. Of course, girls would be into Niccolò. Of course, Niccolò would be into girls. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to Martino, but it still stung him in a way that wasn’t comfortable. That’s what Martino gets for letting his guard down, for thinking for even a second that Niccolò could be into him. Martino hadn’t learnt his lesson apparently and he felt so very stupid for falling for a straight guy on his first day of vacation.

“We’re also completely girls free, so we can celebrate together. What about we hang out on the beach tonight then?” asked Gio to the group, breaking the awkward silence that followed Niccolò’s revelation, “we could play some games, play music and all that, what do you say?”

“Yeah sounds good! Let's meet up here again after diner,” responded eagerly Amir.

“That’s a deal!” concluded Gio, clapping his hands.

All boys looked enthusiastic at the idea. It was almost seven when the two groups of boys collected their stuff and went their separate ways, the contrabbandieri to the campsite, and the other boys to Aurelio’s cousin’s. Martino hadn’t dared look at Niccolò again. On the way to their tent, Gio looked over at Martino, who didn’t have it in him to feign being cheerful. Gio knew him too well anyway, so there was no point in pretending. Gio didn’t say anything but it was clear he noticed. Martino knew Gio would ask about it later, but for now all Martino wanted to do was take a shower and try to get a certain pair of green eyes out of his mind.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I contrabbandieri spend the evening with the group of boys they met at the beach. Martino is going through a roller coaster of emotions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was difficult, but it's finally here !  
> I used this chapter to develop the three original characters a little, which wasn't easy, so let me know what you think of it :)

By the time they were walking back to the beach, Martino had come to terms with the fact that Niccolò probably only wanted to be friends with him. And that’s he’s fine with it. After all he’s not looking to date a boy any time soon, that would complicate his life way too much. If he’s managed to maintain his friendship with Gio after crushing on him for months (and, well, plotting to get him to break up with Eva), he’ll definitely be able to be friends with Niccolò for the few days that they’ll spend at the beach. It’s what Martino is repeating to himself again and again while they eat the shitty pasta they cooked on a portable gas plate. It’s not like he made an effort to look extra nice, putting on a black button-up shirt and his most fitting pair of jeans, for any particular reason. No, this was purely incidental.

“I am quite proud of us guys, our first day in Fregene and we’ve already played beach volley – rather successfully considering our sports level –, befriended a group of cool guys, and managed to pass the ordeal of cooking food while camping” said Gio as they were walking towards the beach.

“We more than passed, the pasta was really tasty” responded Luchino.

“Anything that’s edible is tasty according to you Luchi” laughed Elia, “but yeah I’m calling this first day a success. And I feel like tonight will make it even better. I’m expecting a wild hot summer night” he added suggestively.

“More like baked summer night Eli” snickered Martino, they all laughed at that. “Just as a disclaimer, I don’t want to be responsible for hiding the weed if the cops come in”.

“Don’t worry Marti we’re never letting you in possession of the weed ever again” responded Elia. “It’s not even ours anyway”.

When they step foot on the sand after fifteen minutes of walking in the slightly cooler evening air, they realize immediately that there is a sharp contrast in atmosphere compared to this afternoon. Where there was a sea of people sunbathing under the burning sun, playing beach games, children shouting, there are now scattered groups of young people playing music, laughing loudly, drinking and smoking. There was a change in the air that smelled a lot like a “hot summer night” as Elia called it. It didn’t take long for them to spot a familiar group of boys near the beach volley court, they were sitting in a circle and had soft electro music playing over a speaker. When the contrabbandieri approached them, they greeted them like they’ve known each other for much longer than just a few hours.

“Come sit guys! We were waiting for you to start” said Amir cheerfully. They had all changed into evening clothes, looking sharp. Martino allowed himself to glance at Niccolò only for a second, just enough to notice how good he was looking in his tight shirt and jeans outfit. His shirt was a light blue color that made him look both soft and classy. Thinking that it was already enough drooling for the night, he sat down in between Gio and Stefano.

They passed the joint around and after a while Martino felt a much needed feeling of relaxation taking over his body. He has been talking with Stefano for a while now, about anything and everything, but mostly about movies and series as he happens to be a huge film nerd. They have similar tastes, but it was clear that Stefano was much more knowledgeable in the topic than he was. He found himself enjoying listening to him talking passionately about his latest obsession, an obscure German movie set in the 90s. At some point during Stefano’s long tirade on all things German cinema, Martino felt eyes on him. He has to resist the urge of looking towards what he believes is the source. It’s not like he was constantly aware of the presence of Niccolò in his vision’s periphery. It’s not like he already knew that he was talking with Elia and Luca excitedly, and it’s not like Martino had been trying to catch bribes of the conversation all the while listening to Stefano.

“This is such an immersive movie, it makes you want to live in it, you see” was concluding Stefano.

“Yeah I think I do” replied Martino. “I’ll watch it when I go back home and I’ll tell you what I think of it”.

“I promise you it’s worth your time”, said Stefano confidently.

“Will you still want to be friends with me even though I don’t like it?” joked Martino. He enjoyed talking to Stefano and genuinely felt like they could become good friends once they go back to Rome.

“Ehhh… Maybe not, sorry” he joked back, chuckling “but as it turns out I’m still friends with Nico even though he didn’t like it, so… you should be fine”. It was so evident from his expression that he felt nothing but adoration for Nico, and Martino didn’t miss this opening to get to know more about the dark-haired boy.

“Ah really? Why didn’t he like it? He asked, trying to look unphased and just barely interested.

“Because he is a picky idiot” He laughed, but then turned serious rapidly “No, I think it was because it made him feel weird. He’s… quite sensitive to atmospheres and stuff like that”. Martino wasn’t sure what it meant, and he could see in Stefano’s eyes that there was more to it, but he didn’t dare to ask.

Gio handed them the bottle of alcohol that was going around the circle, interrupting their discussion. Martino felt his insides warm up while observing Gio’s face, who looked so comfortable and content in this new environment. Even though Martino had gotten over his crush on his best friend a few months ago, he’ll always feel something for him that isn’t easy to describe. They have such a strong bound, almost like they are the friends’ version of soulmates. Gio took him under his wing when they were only little kids and Martino knows in his heart that he will always be there for him no matter what. In situations like these, Martino has always felt a little jealous of how warm and easy going Gio can be, of how at ease he is with making new friends and chatting with everyone. Today, maybe for the time ever, Martino doesn’t feel jealousy so much as gratefulness for his best friend, for his steady presence and the night that they’re having with their new-found friends. He feels grounded in a way that he has never felt before. He doesn’t know the reason, he just knows that a new feeling has taken over him, and he hopes that it stays that way.

Gio must have felt eyes on him, because he turns to Marti and looks intensely in his eyes. Martino and Gio hold a silent conversation. Martino trying to convey his thoughts through his eyes as much as he can. Thanks to some mysterious phenomenon, Gio seems to have gotten the message, at least in some way.

“Do you feel like singing Marti?” Gio asked, breaking the comfortable silence that had settled.

“If _I_ feel like singing? You must not know who you’re talking to”, replied Martino, trying to look as indignant as can be.

“No trust me I know” he chuckled, “but you look like you might be in the mood for singing. And I’m in the mood for playing guitar so I need someone to accompany me”.

“Ok fine, but I can’t be the only one”. As much as he would never admit to it, Martino does enjoy those moments of them singing off-tune while Gio plays the guitar, usually on the secluded beach adjoined to the lake in Bracciano.

Aurelio had brought his guitar and was absentmindedly strumming a few chords.

“Hey Aurelio, you mind if I play something?” asked Gio.

“No, not at all! It’s cool that you play too” Aurelio answered with his habitual relaxed demeanor.

“I’m not that good at it, I just enjoy playing a few tunes that we can sing along to and stuff” Gio told him.

“Yeah, I get what you mean” He replied, handing Gio the guitar. “That’s what music should be about anyway”, he added, winking at Gio.

“What do you want me to play guys?” asked Gio to the group. All the boys stopped whatever discussions they were having and focused on Gio. There was a brief silence as everyone was thinking of a song they wanted to hear.

“Gaetano?” proposed Elia.

“Is that the only song you know Eli?” asked Martino, smug. He didn’t want to think about the number of times they sang that song together, without doing the maths he knew it was way too many times.

“This song is a classic Marti, don’t be a little shit” retorted Gio.

“I think it’s the best song in history” added Luchino, sounding way too serious for the situation.

“Ok ok whatever, let’s play this song for the millionth time” replied Martino, having no other choice than to yield to his friends. Who was he to deprive them of their favorite song after all?

The other boys seemed to be entertained by the exchange, looking at the four boys with a mix of mockery and endearment in their eyes.

“Gaetano sounds good, we probably don’t know the lyrics as well as you though, but let’s try it” said Aurelio, evidently amused.

Gio started playing and at first it was awkward, with only Gio, Elia and Aurelio actually singing the words, but then as the song progressed all eight boys sang in unison. Martino felt a warm feeling taking over him again, looking at his best friends singing at the top of their lungs, and at the other four boys, who he’s grown fond of in the little time that he’s known them.

It was like nothing existed apart from their little group, the other people gathered on the beach only a blurry presence in the background, the sound of waves softly crashing on the shore a backing track to their singing. It felt like they were on a boat in the middle of the sea and that nothing could reach or disrupt them from their little moment filled with laughter, warmth and dizziness. Martino enjoyed every second of it through his uninhibited senses. He was letting himself enjoy the moment without thinking of the things that tend to weigh on his shoulders, or of the things that might happen in the future, and that’s when he understood how right it was for them to be here at this time. His eyes fell naturally on Niccolò after a while, who was looking free of any trouble himself, singing through his usual bright smile and swaying his head to the music. Martino felt the warmth in his body intensify, if it was even possible.

They were about to finish the song, each of them growing even louder and sillier, when Luchino completely messed up the lyrics and sang something absolutely inappropriate, making the group burst out laughing. They were crying laughing for a good ten minutes after that, not managing to hold their laughter whenever they would meet the eyes of one another. People around them probably thought they were being obnoxious, but they really couldn’t care less.

Once they finally calmed down and were able to form words without bursting again, the boys resumed their conversation.

“What kind of music do you usually listen to?” asked Aurelio.

“Well Calcutta, Coez, you know stuff like that” responded Gio.

“Yeah, also personally I listen to a lot of indie electro music.” added Martino. “What about you?”

“Hmm I listen to different genres, but I’d say my favorite is folk music. To me there’s nothing like a guitar and a voice, it’s simple yet effective.”

“You mean there’s nothing like music that can be played on the beach to attract girls, right?” interjected Niccolò, inserting himself into the conversation and settling in between Aurelio and Amir.

“Ok ok, don’t be annoying Nico. We know you like to flex with your piano skills, but guitar is not just about attracting girls, mind you” retorted Aurelio, pretending to be annoyed.

This got the best out of Martino’s curiosity, who heard himself saying “You play the piano?”

“Yeah, I have for a few years. I’m… decent” responded Niccolò, looking straight at Martino in the same unsettling way he did this afternoon.

“Pfff, you’re way more than decent Nico, stop downplaying yourself” Amir said. By the way he was looking at Nico it was clear that the two were very close. Their fraternal bond transpired from all their interactions, making Martino wonder if their friendship is akin to the one he shares with Gio. Amir added: “he’s really fucking good actually… even though it kinda hurts me to say”, he turned to ruffle Nico’s hair, who was giggling like a kid from the attention. Martino wasn’t prepared for the sight of Niccolò with gloriously messy hair which, for a mysterious reason, made him even more attractive than he already was. Martino scolded himself for thinking that – so much for keeping his developing crush at bay – and focused back on the conversation.

“We can show you a video of him playing from when we were self managing the school, if you want. It’s on YouTube” was saying Amir.

“Oh yeah, that’d be cool…”

“Another time maybe but let’s not do it now” Niccolò interrupted Gio, his cheeks turning a soft pink. He glanced at Martino who felt a little disappointed from not being able to watch Niccolò play the piano, at least for now.

Elia came up behind Martino and Gio, laying his arms over their shoulders. “Hey guys, I think we’re being watched” he slurred, looking clearly inebriated. All the boys turned to look at the group of girls Elia was pointing at. And yes, Elia was right, the girls had evidently been looking at them even though they tried to hide it. 

“This night is getting interesting” Amir said suggestively.

“The one in the middle with auburn hair is super pretty, don’t you think?” asked Gio.

Martino knew they wouldn’t be able to avoid girls all throughout their stay at Fregene, but he wanted to extend their time without girls as much as possible.

“Wasn’t tonight supposed to be a girls free night?” He countered.

“We can never really be free of girls, Marti. That’s just how it is” Gio responded to him matter-of-factly, his eyes still fixed on the group of girls.

And at that, Martino downed the last of the bottle of wine in front of him. He better get more alcohol into his system if he had to deal with girls tonight. Martino puts the bottle down and lifts his head, meeting a pair of green eyes which were looking back at him. Niccolò. Martino knew he shouldn’t feel that way, but he couldn’t help but feeling upset and a little annoyed at Niccolò in this moment. He knows it’s not his fault he’s into girls, just like it’s not Marti’s fault he’s into boys. But the fact that Niccolò was always looking at him with his particular way of his was starting to irritate him, why was he doing this? Was he torturing him on purpose? The alcohol in his system and his growing irritation almost had him open his mouth to ask him what his deal was. But Martino just kept staring at him, challenging him to avert his eyes. Niccolò held his stare at first, a questioning look in his eyes, his features slowly falling at the realization that something was bothering Martino. He ended up lowering his eyes in defeat, and Martino felt instantly bad for making his usual bright smile disappear. Well done Martino, why do you always have to make everyone as miserable as you?

It’s a good thing that the boys quit eyeing the girls to focus back on their group, distracting Martino from what had just happened.

“Alright boys are we lighting that second joint or what?” asked Stefano, gesturing with his hands adamantly.

“Bring it on” responded Elia.

“Yep. Those girls have nothing on Silvia anyway. Let’s not lose our time on them” added Luchino, looking pleased.

“Oh come on Luchi, don’t act as if you would manage to get any of those girls” Martino snickered, feeling the life get back to him by being his sarcastic self and picking on Luchino, one of his favorite things to do.

“I have to side with Marti on this one” Elia added, “no way you would stand a chance. But then I remember that you still manage to attract girls Marti, even though you’re the absolute worst at seducing. So there’s still hope for our Luchi”. The later seemed very grateful for this rare show of support. Martino tried to get rid of any bad thoughts in his head as the boys continued their playful conversation.

About half an hour later of them talking about whatever, Aurelio took his guitar back in his hands with the intent of playing another song. This time Aurelio proposes the song Per un Milione by Boomdabash, “do you all know the lyrics?” he asked.

“I have to confess that I do” sighed Gio.

“Wait isn’t that the super cheesy song that’s all over the radio” asked Stefano, looking not so pleased at the prospect of having to sing this song. It further confirmed Martino’s assumption that they could become good friends.

“Exactly. Don’t be a killjoy ok? It’s an easy song that everyone can sing” retorted Aurelio.

As Aurelio started playing, Martino decided he wouldn’t make an effort to sing this time. The warm feeling that had taken over time earlier was now completely gone, replaced by an uneasiness and stiffness that prevented him from letting go. He should have known that this feeling was only short-lived. Back to his usual self he already was. But then a sound made him step out his head, just like a snake charmed out of his basket. He wasn’t prepared for such a sweet and low sound to come out of Niccolò’s mouth, singing the first lines of the song:

“Ti aspetterò  
Perché sei tu che porti il sole   
E non c’è niente al mondo di migliore   
Di te, nemmeno vincere un milione”

[ENG translation*

I will wait for you  
Because it's you who brings the sun  
And there is nothing better in the world  
Than you, not even winning a million]

Gio, Amir and Aurelio were singing along as well, but Niccolò’s voice is the one that stood out. It’s a good thing that Niccolò was looking at Aurelio at that moment, because Martino was back to shamelessly staring at him, with his mouth hanging low, completely transfixed by the way Niccolò’s pillowy lips barely moved to let out the softest of sounds. He probably looked particularly dumb as he was focusing all of his attention on Niccolò’s voice and let himself be overflown by the emotions that it instilled in him. It didn’t matter how upset he supposedly was earlier, he just couldn’t believe there was any bad bone in Niccolò’s body. He realized how unfair it would be of him to blame Niccolò for anything that Martino is going through. Really, it’s not his fault that he’s the most beautiful and most talented person on the planet.  

As Niccolò kept on singing, he might have felt eyes on him because he then turned to pierce his eyes into Martino’s. Martino tried to recompose himself as much as he could, but he didn’t stop looking at Niccolò, who seemed to be looking back at him with intent. There was a determination in his eyes, a hidden message that was addressed to Martino and Martino only.

“Ti giuro che l’attesa aumenta il desiderio  
È un conto alla rovescia col tempo a rilento  
Però ti sto aspettando come aspetto un treno”

[I swear that the wait increases the desire  
It is a slow countdown with time  
But I'm waiting for you like I’m waiting a train]

Martino thought he might be delusional, because it felt like Niccolò was singing those words _to_ him. Like hypnotized, Martino felt his own lips move to hum the lyrics until he started to sing out loud to join the rest of the group. It felt like an out of body experience, Niccolò’s eyes never leaving his, their lips moving in unison two meters apart. Niccolò was smiling his sunshine smile which was growing by the second, and Martino couldn’t help but smile back. He felt so close to him in this instant despite knowing him for only a few hours, something that Martino had never felt with anyone before. An instant connection. A comfort and an understanding that sprung out of thin air. It felt too much and just right at the same time. As the song geared towards the end, they sang the words back to each other, giving weight and meaning to each of them.

“Ti aspetterò  
Come il caffè a letto a colazione  
Come ad un concerto dall’inizio  
Si aspetta il ritornello di quella canzone  
Ti aspetterò  
Perché sei tu che porti il sole  
E non c’è niente al mondo di migliore   
Di te, nemmeno vincere un milione

(…)  
Non c’è niente al mondo che farei io senza te   
Perché io non ti cambierei nemmeno per   
Nemmeno per un milione”

[I will wait for you  
Like coffee in bed for breakfast  
Like the beginning of a concert  
One is waiting for the refrain of that song  
I will wait for you  
Because it's you who brings the sun  
And there is nothing better in the world  
Than you, not even winning a million  


(...)  
There is nothing in the world that I would do without you  
Because I would never change you not even for  
Not even for a million]

Once Aurelio strung the last chord of the song, the boys laughed and cheered loudly. Martino hadn’t realized that the boys had formed a chain holding each other by the shoulders while they were singing. Martino had barely registered the weight of Gio’s arm on his own shoulder. He was still lost in Niccolò’s eyes when a female voice suddenly ringed, greeting them. Martino finally broke their eye contact and squinted at the group of girls that emerged out of the shadows. Everything seemed uncomfortably louder and brighter, like flicking a light on in the middle of the night. All eight boys raised their head to have a look at the five girls, some shamelessly eyeing them from head to toe. Among them, Martino recognizes the girl with auburn hair Gio was looking at earlier. Looks like Niccolò was right about Aurelio’s music being a magnet for girls, as it turns out the girls had been attracted by the music and wanted to join their little group. The boys happily agreed, enjoining them to sit around the circle. The only boy who didn’t seem that enthusiastic about the idea was Martino, who tried to pass his annoyance for feign indifference. One of the girls sat next to him, a blue-eyed girl with light brown hair called Maria. Very quickly the boys engaged in comfortable conversations with the girls, asking them the typical introductory questions with their best seductive faces on. They started playing drinking games to get the mood going. Martino was for one glad for this, as the more alcohol he absorbs, the more chance for him to spend a decent night now that the composition of their group has changed. As much as Maria seemed sweet and would be deemed conventionally pretty, Martino hadn’t come down from the high of Niccolò’s voice and eyes focused on him. He would still see flashes of his face and replay the lyrics of Per un Milione in his head as he talked to Maria, or rather as _she_ talked to him. She seemed set on the idea of talking solely to Martino who was keeping up with the conversation as much as he could, which admittedly wasn’t much. He would throw short answers and little words of encouragement from time to time, but the truth is Maria was doing most of the work. He discreetly, or so he thought, stole glances to see what Niccolò was up to. Turns out he was also talking to a girl one on one with his usual sunshine smile plastered on his face. Martino shouldn’t be surprised by, and even less so annoyed by, the natural charm that oozes out of Niccolò as he chatted with the girl. A fleeting thought unwillingly made his way into Martino’s mind – what if Niccolò is charming with everyone and Martino is seeing way too much into the interactions he’s had with him?

“Martino it’s your turn to play” called Gio. Martino took this opportunity to focus his attention on something else. He played and he lost, multiple times. There was no way he wasn’t getting drunk out of his mind with the amount of alcohol he ingested.

His vision was getting blurrier, his thoughts hazier, which made talking to Maria a little bit easier. She hadn’t given up and was still chatting him up with the same excitement. Martino glanced at Niccolò again because he couldn’t help himself, and notices that the girl he was talking to had gotten dangerously closer to him, their arms touching, her body completely angled towards him. Martino wanted nothing more than to separate them, but he would never dare to come in between them. Martino felt disgusted with himself for even thinking of doing so, the disaster that his jealousy created between Gio and Eva still a fresh memory. He is checking from the corner of his eyes to see if they are getting any closer, until he ends up turning his head completely and catches Niccolò looking at him. Niccolò turns his head quickly and Martino feels a hand on his arm, Maria was trying to get his attention back to her. This gave Martino an idea. He inched closer to Maria, let her keep her hand on his arm, getting up in her space a little bit more. He waits until a certain mop of curly hair turns to him again, and, as expected, it doesn’t take long for Martino to feel eyes on him. Maria was emboldened and took the opportunity to put her hand on his thigh, something he would have never let happen in other circumstances. He didn’t like the sensation of it, the warm and delicate touch unwelcome, but Martino was too caught up in this game of provocation that he couldn’t stop himself, no matter how wrong it was. Martino dares glancing at Niccolò again who still is looking towards them, his eyes slowly shifting to the hand that was on his thigh. He could have sworn he saw his adam apple wobble as he gulped with difficulty. Then Niccolò turned away, looking bothered. Martino wanted both to pat himself in the back for his little victory, and to slap himself for acting like a prick. Martino knows deep inside that he should let it go, that he should accept that Niccolò might never be into him and that it’s fine. It appears their staring games made him lost all reason, aided by his blood buzzing with alcohol, hence successfully managing to crumble his previous resolution to not let his crush develop any further.

It was past one a.m. when the girls left their group to go back to their camp site, leading the boys to call it a night themselves. They were gathering all of their stuff when Martino realized he was still too inebriated to stand up straight. He attempted to get himself on his feet only to fall back on his ass – Martino felt very much grateful for sand in this moment.

“Ahah, I saw you Marti, are you seriously so drunk you can’t even get up?” laughed Elia.

“Shut up Eli” replied Martino, not in his right state of mind to come up with a better come back.

Suddenly a dark silhouette appeared in front of him, offering a hand. A hand and the prettiest smile that he knows so well by now. Martino hesitates only a milli second before putting his hand into Niccolò’s, which happens to be soft and strong. He manages to get up thanks to his help, and then they end up face to face. The events of the day seem to be suspended in the air between them.

“Thank you” Martino said shyly.

“No problem” he responded warmly, “will you be ok to walk to your tent?”. He seems to be much sober than Martino.

“Yeah yeah I’m ok. I’ll be with the boys anyway. Well as you can imagine they’ll be quite useless if I end up falling but we'll make it there, don't worry" Martino tried to sound assured, but the fact that he was slurring half of the words wasn’t helping. Niccolò chuckled at that, which made his eyes wrinkle in the cutest way.

“Ok. But maybe we should exchange numbers in case anything happens, you know” proposes Niccolò.

Martino felt his brain court-circuit, “Eh… yeah let’s do that”. He smiles weakly, trying to look composed. He gets his phone out of his pocket and types as Niccolò spells his number.

“What are you entering me as?” He asked, smiling softly.

What… what was he trying to do? “Hmm, I don’t know, I was thinking Niccolò Fregene”.

“Niccolò Fregene?” he repeated indignantly, “is that really how you want to remember me?”

“Well do you prefer Tiny Niccolò?” Martino said without thinking, “or Loser Niccolò”, he tried to recover.

“On second thought Niccolò Fregene wasn’t so bad” he laughed. They kept smiling at each other for a little longer than necessary.

“Ok Niccolò Fregene it is”. Martino sends Niccolò a message so that he also has his number (a simple “ciao”), and they say good night to each other.

The two group of boys parted with the promise of hanging out together again the next day.

“See you tomorrow boys” waved Amir, “we’re meeting at the same spot on the beach, and please don’t die on your way to the tent” he snickered.

“We might be two years younger than you, but we’re not babies, well at least I’m not. I’ll walk those three babies back safely” Gio replied.

Elia pushed his arm at that comment. “Bye guys, see you tomorrow”.

They all waved and Martino glanced at Niccolò one last time before turning, who also glanced back at him. As the contrabbandieri started walking towards the camp site, Martino reminisced all the events of the day. It had been one of the longest day of his life, in the good sense. So many things happened since they stepped foot in Fregene, and even if Martino was quite confused by some of it, he didn’t regret any of it. This felt like the start of a new beginning and no matter the outcome, Martino was glad for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Translation graciously provided by Google Translate and myself (don't hesitate to correct me).  
> Thank you for reading :)  
> Again I'd love to hear what you thought of that chapter. Come chat with me on Tumblr (@probablydaydreamingg) if you want.  
> Next chapters will be more Nicotino heavy, promise ;)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marti and Nico spend some alone time on the beach and get to know each other better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a little bit longer. I'm sorry for the wait, but I hope it's worth it!  
> I'm really excited for you to read this one!  
> As always I'd love to hear what you think of it ;)

Martino was making his smartphone do summersaults on his belly as he lied on his inflatable mattress inside the already suffocating warmth of their tent which seemed to be the prime target of high sun rays. Martino unlocked his phone, stared at Niccolò’s number for a minute, locked it again and then proceeded to go back to playing with his phone mindlessly. He’s been going through the same motions several times now. He didn’t know why. He didn’t know why having Niccolò’s number saved on his phone made him feel a certain way, or why he had the urge to make use of it to let him know they were all safe and sound. Or to check with him that they were indeed meeting later as planned. Martino had been debating for half an hour, the part of his brain telling him not to send any pointless message to Niccolò never shutting up. As he was staring at the tent ceiling and debating with himself, Gio came in through the tent’s entrance. The three boys went to take a shower while Martino stayed in the tent to enjoy some more minutes of morning chillness – well, and internal debates for that matter. Gio let himself fall back on his own mattress with a huff.

“I’m so glad we decided to come here. It was a good call, don’t you think?” Gio said, looking a little pensive himself, his arm folded under his head.

“Definitely. I’m really glad too,” Martino responded, turning his head to smile at Gio who was looking back at him with understanding in his eyes, probably replaying a film in his head of all the things Martino went through this past year and a half.

“What do you think of the boys? You and Stefano seem to hit it off,” Gio asked after a brief pause.

“They’re all super cool honestly, and yeah I had a pretty long chat with Stefano and I realized we have the same outlook on a lot of things. Actually, he might become my new best friend, be careful because your reign might come to an end sooner than you think,” Martino said in as much a neutral tone as he could. But he knew Gio could always see right through him. Martino couldn’t hide the smile forming on his lips.

“Ahah really funny Marti. Nobody will ever come to my level and you know it,” Gio said confidently. There was a short silence, a comfortable one that can only occur between two old friends. Gio broke the silence, a little hesitant, “and Nico?”

Martino felt a sense of dread run through him, why was Gio asking about Niccolò specifically? Did he suspect something? After all Martino hadn’t exactly been subtle with the staring, Gio could have caught up on it. “Hmm, Nico?” His voice cracked when he said his name and he feigns a cough, “what about him?”

“I don’t know, you two seemed to be getting along pretty well too,” Gio responded vaguely.

Martino couldn’t read him in that moment. He didn’t think Gio was fishing for information, but he couldn’t be sure. Martino felt his muscles stiffen and was suddenly very much aware of the way his body was taking up space in the small tent, a feeling he didn’t like one bit.

“I’ve gotta say that this boy is out-of-this-world beautiful,” Gio thankfully spoke before he had to. The thing is Martino really didn’t know how to answer to that – it’s not like he could wholeheartedly agree with him as his first impulse urged him to. And it wouldn’t be believable if he tried to deny it. He’s left dumbfounded. He probably was looking like a deer caught in flashlights, his mouth slightly open, trying to come up with an answer that wouldn’t trigger any red lights.

Gio kept on rambling, saving him the trouble once again, “like… he seems super nice and all, no problem about that, but you have to be sure that no girls would even glance at me if he’s in the vicinity.” He paused for a few seconds, looking at Marti, before finally letting out a “don’t you agree?”

“Yeah… I mean. I guess he is kinda good looking,” was all Martino could manage. He really hoped the colored fabric tainted sun rays would somewhat hide the red creeping up his cheeks.

“I…” Started Gio, “I feel like he took a liking in you.” His tone was definitely cryptic now. Gio was way too observant for his own good. Or rather for Martino’s good in this case.

“You think so?” he replied as neutral as he managed to be, “honestly I think he’s just really nice with everyone. He seems to be that kind of person.”

“Right yes, but even then, he does seem to appreciate you a lot. And trust me, I can’t understand for the life of me why that’d be, but… “

“Hey, fuck you!” Martino threw his arm to hit him but couldn’t reach far enough to do more than poke him on the arm. Gio was laughing his ass off and looked very pleased with himself.

Gio’s morning cravings surfaced at just the right time, “I need to get coffee in my system, you coming with me?” he asked him.

They both walked to the reception bar to get coffees, and as they did Martino couldn’t help thinking – could it be that he didn’t imagine anything yesterday and Nico _did_ like him as Gio implied? Was he not being completely delusional? As tempting as it was, he tried not to dwell too long on that thought.

 

I contrabbandieri started walking towards the beach around two p.m., and on their way there Martino called his mom. He told her he was having fun and that everything was going well. He did omit to tell her that they hung out until late in the night, or that they met a group of boys with whom they smoked and partied. Ignorance is bliss, right? She seemed to be doing okay and had plans to go out with her sister in the afternoon, so Martino didn’t linger on the phone and went back to bantering with the boys. This time the feeling they had upon stepping foot on the sand was much different than that of the day before. Everything was different, the people basking in the sun, the parasols, the toys scattered around, the intensity of the waves etc., however there was a sense of familiarity that seemed to surround the place, a distinct smell and sound that impregnated each element in front of them. This time, they didn’t make the mistake of taking their shoes off to get to their preferred spot.

Amir, Stefano, Aurelio and Niccolò were already lazing under the sun, their towels spread in front of the beach volley court as expected. They made room for the contrabbandieri to lay their towels and, in the commotion that followed, Martino ended up laying his next to Niccolò’s without realizing it. He was both glad and absolutely terrified that he would get to look at Nico from up close. Niccolò greeted him warmly and Martino felt his skin prickle all over.

“Everything ok? Did you manage to sleep well in the tent?” Niccolò asked him with a soft expression and a soft voice. _Soft, soft, soft_. Everything about Niccolò was soft.

“Yeah we slept alright. It was rather quiet around the campsite, well… it’s not like we would have noticed anyway. I was out the moment my head touched the pillow.” Martino dared to look straight at him once he was done talking and was welcomed by soft sunlit green eyes. Martino noticed the light freckles on his nose and on his cheeks. As much as he didn’t care one bit for his own freckles, he couldn’t help but being endeared by Niccolò’s.

Niccolò giggled at Martino’s last comment, his smile taking up most of his face, “right, that’s what a beach day, and a night of smoking and drinking does to you. About that, you’re not too hangover?”

“No, not at all actually. I’ve seen way worse.”

“As in…?”

“Let’s just say that you’re very lucky to never have tried the alcohol Luchino makes us drink. He insists that the craft beer that one of our mates makes is tasty, when it’s absolute shit and will only make you sick,” Martino told him.

“Sounds like a disaster,” Niccolò laughed.

“Luchino _is_ a disaster,” Martino confirmed.

“Wait, what did you say about me?” Luchino apparently overheard him from a couple of towels away.

“I said you’re a disaster. Plain and simple,” Martino snickered.

“Me a disaster??? Did you look at yourself? Do I have to remind you what you did last night?” Luca retorted.

“Wait I’m interested, what did he do?” Niccolò jumped in, looking like he was enjoying this way too much.

“Nothing, it’s not worth telling,” Martino told him, turning to look pointedly at Luca.

“Oh no it definitely is worth telling,” Gio joined in on the conversation, evidently excited about the embarrassment that will undoubtedly follow.

Luchino was laughing before he even started speaking, “listen he…” – more giggles – “we went back to the campsite last night – Marti was swaying all the way there by the way.”

“I wasn’t.” Martino interjected.

“You so were,” Elia also wanted in the ‘let’s make fun of Martino’ hour apparently.

“Yeah you were,” Gio was as merciless as the rest of the boys. Martino will never forget it.

Niccolò was following the conversation like he would the last minute of a tense match, on the edge of his seat, barely blinking or breathing so as not to miss even one bit of what was happening in front of him. Martino would have been endeared by this sight if it weren’t for the fact his friends were about to roast him right in front of his crush.

“So yeah anyway,” Luca continued, “We finally got there and… Marti got into a tent that wasn’t ours!”

“No??” Niccolò’s face lit up so bright, and Martino wanted nothing but to bury himself in the burning sand.

“Yes, yes bro, and he didn’t even realize it before the people who were in it started screaming, ahahahah.” Luchino fell back on his towel as he was laughing his ass off. In fact, all of the boys were, including Stefano, Aurelio and Amir who were also listening on the conversation.

“Oh man, that’s a good one, and then what? Did he get in trouble?” asked Amir.

“No… wait.” Luchino had to calm down before he could tell the rest of the story, “Marti screamed back at them and came out of the tent running, he came to us and said – you won’t believe it – ‘Rega, there are strangers in our tent’,” and at that the boys burst out laughing again, apart from Marti who could only roll his eyes.

“And… and then it finally downed on him after a minute that the tent we were standing in front of was ours, not the other one,” Luca concluded with a high-pitched laughter.

Martino had to say something, “in my defense their tent was very similar to ours”.

“No zì, not even a little,” Gio countered, gesturing with his hands.

“What are you saying? It _was_ similar, I just mistook it.”

“Anyway, similar or not, this made our night for sure,” Elia said, his stupid smile not leaving his face.

“I bet it did,” replied Aurelio.

“Yeah, I wish we would have been there to witness it,” Niccolò said. Martino didn’t even want to think of that possibility.

Once the boys were finally done picking at Marti, a wave of calmness spread over the group. Some basked in the sun silently while others chatted unhurriedly. Martino was laying on his back, relaxed, stealing glances at Nico from time to time. The latter was laying in the same position as Marti, his sunglasses on which made it difficult for him to figure out his expression, or if he was napping. Martino looks at their legs laying close to one another on their almost joined towels. Niccolò had thin legs, Martino noticed, his thighs narrower than his own. He was wearing the same baby blue trunks from the day before, while Martino was wearing a light grey one with blue motifs on it. At one point, Niccolò’s foot twitched, thus breaking his reverie and bringing his attention to their feet. Standing close and angled towards the other, their toes moving occasionally, it felt like they were having a silent conversation via their feet. Martino was mesmerized by the sight.

Martino snapped out of it when Elia, who was laying next to him on his right, started ranting to him about whatever. Something to do with the noises the boys made during the night. After a while, he felt Niccolò moving next to him, probably waking back to after taking a brief nap. He sat back up and, as he did, his arm brushed Martino’s in passing. It felt warm and feathery on his skin, just enough to send Marti into overdrive. Angling himself towards Martino and Elia, Niccolò joined in on the conversation, listening intently to every word that was uttered. His legs had stealthily invaded Marti’s towel, who had to try really hard not to stare too long at Niccolò’s face standing quite close to his. He could see all the little details, the crinkles at the corner of his eyes, the way his skin folds adorably around his smile, the strange blend of colors of his irises. Whenever he’d sense Niccolò’s eyes turning to him, Martino would pretend he was looking at the sea, or at his towel, or at anything else that wasn’t his face. The truth is, Martino felt much more comfortable and at ease sitting next to Nico than he thought he would. He felt relaxed and didn’t feel the need to pretend to be someone he’s not to please him, and if he felt any tension, it could only be attributed to the pleasing streaks of electricity coursing through him. He was enjoying the moment without overthinking it too much – which was quite new for him, a welcomed change from past experiences with others – mostly girls.

“Aaaaah” Stefano stretched loudly on the far left. “This was a much-needed nap. I feel revigorated now, do you guys feel like walking a bit around the shops and get food maybe?”

“Ahh thank you, finally somebody who mentions food,” replied instantly Luchino, getting up in a second like he had been waiting for that moment all his life.

“Alright let’s go. Do you think they make green smoothies around here?” asked Amir.

“‘ _Do you think they make green smoothies around here’_ , honestly do you hear yourself sometimes?” Stefano mocked him.

“Oh, fuck off, I need my vitamins. It’s not my fault you don’t even know what they are.” They kept on bickering until Amir playfully knocked Stefano down on the sand. All the boys observed them, entertained, until Stefano got back up and called Amir some colorful names.

“I’m down to walk around a bit, but do you think it’s safe to leave all of our stuff here unsupervised?” Gio asked.

“Probably not…” Amir told him. Gio nodded to him. It had to be some sort of code between mom friends.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine staying here,” Martino proposed. Unlike most of the boys, he didn’t nap yet and he felt the aftermath of yesterday’s excesses get back to him.

“You sure?” Amir asked him.

“Yeah it’s no problem, I’d rather lay down for a bit more,” He assured him.

“Ok, but couldn’t somebody else stay here with you?” Gio asked, looking around the group of boys for any volunteer.

“I’m sure there’s someone,” Amir said in a suggestive tone. It confused Martino, what was that about?

“I’ll stay,” Niccolò said suddenly. He was still laying on his towel, seemingly relaxed.

“You know you can go with the boys if you want, I’ll be fine alone,” Martino told him. He wouldn’t mind some alone time with Niccolò, on the contrary, but he didn’t want to seem too eager.

“No, no, I’d rather stay here.” His face was composed, not letting anything break through. Amir was side eyeing Niccolò with a mysterious expression, and then shared a look with Stefano and Aurelio. Martino wasn’t imagining that, right?

“Ok boys, let’s get going,” Amir clasped his hands, “and Nico, enjoy”. He winked at Niccolò before turning to leave with the rest of the boys. _Enjoy_? _Wink_? Martino probably had his “confused bambi” expression on, as Gio liked to call it.

Martino finally turned to Nico once he somewhat recovered from the weird interaction. Turns out Nico’s cheeks had turned a soft reddish color, something Martino wouldn’t have noticed if they weren’t standing so close, and was looking a little dumbfounded himself. However, Niccolò’s expression quickly changed to his usual bright eyes and soft smile.

Martino didn’t want the silence to linger too long, so he asked the first thing that came to his mind: “You… You and Amir seem pretty close”.

“We are,” he confirmed naturally, “We’ve been best friends since we were kids.”

“Right. Kinda like Gio and Me.”

“Oh yeah you’ve known him since you were a kid also?” Martino nodded, “I noticed he’s quite protective of you,” Niccolò added.

“Yeah, you could say that. It can be annoying at times but…”

“But you wouldn’t have it any other way. Yeah I get that,” Niccolò finished without missing a beat. They shared a look that held so much understanding and recognition. Martino didn’t want to look away, but he did, ducking his head down and trying to hide the lop-sided smile that was forming on his lips.

“To be honest, it hasn’t always been easy, but at least it’s worth it.” Martino didn’t want to get into the details of the drama that occurred the year before, but for some reason he felt compelled to talk to Niccolò about it, if only vaguely.

“I get that too, we’ve also had our ups and downs.”

“Yeah?”

Niccolò nodded, “Sure. It’s part of it. When you grow up with somebody, you’re bound to make mistakes along the way. Amir and me, we both had to mature and recognize some of our wrongdoings, before we could go back to being the friends we always were.”

“Sounds about right.” Martino felt Niccolò’s old and bitter memories, whatever they were, slowly take over his mind. He had to lighten up the mood quickly.

“Anyway, we’d never hear the end of it if they knew we were talking about them. So, keep this between us, right?” ~~~~

“Ahah, yes for sure.” Niccolò’s signature smile is back on his face, his face leaning to the side - mission accomplished.

“What about we listen to some music? I have the speaker with me,” Niccolò reached behind him to get the device.

“Okay!”

“What do you want to listen to?”

“I don’t know, surprise me.”

“Eh, what a responsibility,” he joked lightly, “do you know Earl Sweatshirt?”

“Earl Sweatshirt?” Martino repeated with a wonky accent, unlike Niccolò who had the words flow out of his mouth easily. Niccolò’s eyes grew bigger, his eyebrows raising, and yet there wasn’t an ounce of conceit in his expression.

“Ok, so you don’t know him. Listen, this guy is something else. He left the band he formed with Tyler, The Creator to go solo, and then he moved to the Samoa Islands to live as a recluse.”

“Seriously? He’s crazy.”

“Yeah, exactly. Ok, we’ll listen to this one, I think you’ll like it.” Martino noticed the way Niccolò’s voice would inflect at times, getting higher pitched or grittier, a contrasting sound to his usual rich and low voice. Martino wanted to encapsulate these little inflections so that he could listen to them anytime he desired.

“So… you like rap?” Martino remembered he had to entertain some sort of a conversation, rather than thinking of how much he likes Niccolò’s voice. He could hear the first few notes of the song flowing out of the speaker.

“Yeah, don’t you?”

“I don’t mind it, I can’t say I know much about it though. It just surprises me that you’d be into that when you’re a piano player.”

 “You know, those two things aren’t mutually exclusive. It might come as a shock to you, but I happen to be a multi-faceted person.” As he said that, it was clear that Niccolò was trying hard to keep a neutral face, a small smile on the cusp of his lips.

“Oh really? I thought you only lived in the realm of this beach, always here on this towel with your blue trunks, day after day.” Niccolò didn’t realize he had just challenged Martino to what he does best: sarcastic teasing.

“Ok you got me, I never leave this place, I’m glued to the sand of Fregene. In fact, if I try to leave, I’ll disintegrate on the spot,” Niccolò continued, smug.

“I knew it, that’s why you look dusty. The sand has become part of you.”

 “I look dusty??” His shoulders were shaking from laughing, his eyes barely visible.

“Yeah, you barely look real as well. I should have known from the moment I saw you. You’re not from the same dimension. You’re from a dimension where people belong to places.” Martino liked this idea and decided he’d go through with it as it seemed to entertain Nico.

“Yeah ok, you found my secret. I belong to Fregene. This is the only place I’ve ever seen.”

Martino nodded, pleased with himself. Niccolò turned pensive in the comfortable silence that followed, so Martino was able to focus on the song a bit more.

“That sounds like the most boring life to live,” Nico suddenly said.

“I don’t know, I’m sure there’s worse.”

“Yeah but… Are the people around me always coming and leaving, or does anyone stick around? Stuck in this dimension with me?” He seemed to genuinely wonder.

“I’d say yes, in this dimension, everyone is stuck to one place, and only get to occasionally travel to other places, where other people are themselves stuck.”

“So… Are you also stuck on this beach, with me?” Niccolò bore his eyes into Martino’s.

“I don’t know, I’m just making this scenario up as I go.” He replied, while he wanted to tell him that, of course, he’d gladly be stuck here if it meant being with him.

“Hmm,” Niccolò didn’t seem too pleased by this answer.

“Do you want me to be stuck here?” Martino had to ask.

“Yes… and no,” Niccolò seemed a little too serious for what this silly conversation required, “I would rather you lived in a more fulfilling place, like…”

“Like what?"

“I don’t know.”

“Exactly, I don’t think any place can be considered fulfilling on its own. So, I guess that means I’ll stay here with you.” Martino might be braver than he thought after all.

Niccolò smiled softly at him, and Martino was dangerously getting used to that. There was a short minute of silence again, when Niccolò seemed deep in thought. “Can we talk about something else? This scenario makes me feel uneasy.”

“Oh, you mean the scenario when I’m stuck here with you? Thank you very much.”

“No, you know that’s not what I meant dumbass,” Niccolò jeered, hitting Martino’s arm lightly. “It’s the whole thing, being stuck in one place and all that.”

“Ok ok, I get it. Let’s talk about real stuff. Like the government that runs our country or some shit, you know something that’s not as scary.” Niccolò laughed at that, Martino was glad he seemed to appreciate his snarky humor.

After a while of talking, they both got tired of sitting and laid back on their respective towels, their faces on the same level, turned towards the other. They get into a lengthy conversation about the things they enjoy, their hobbies, and anything else that comes to their minds. Niccolò talked about what he likes to play on the piano, about his ukulele where he hides his weed, and about how he loves creating things, from piano pieces, to imaginary creatures he draws, and to self-made objects. Niccolò is definitely of the artsy crafty kind, and as much as Martino had no idea about any of that, he felt himself getting entranced by the way Niccolò spoke animatedly about the things that inspire him. He wouldn’t mind listening to him for hours. Martino hoped that what he felt inside wasn’t too visible in his eyes, but he knew this was in vain. Gio always tells him that he is an open book, his eyes never lying about what he feels. Martino was most probably sporting the biggest heart eyes on full display, and his incontrollable lop-sided smile was definitely not helping his case. Martino told him about his involvement with Radio Osvaldo, how he was tricked into joining but then found himself enjoying it somehow. How he likes to research for a specific subject and to provide food for thought for his little audience. Niccolò asked him a lot of questions about the radio, and about school in general. He seemed to genuinely care and was listening intently to each answer Martino would give him.

The boys had been gone for an hour and a half now, and Martino and Niccolò’s words were getting less and less vigorous, until they got completely silent, falling into a state of comfortable slumber. Martino was basking both in the boiling sun and in the soothing aura that filled the space in between him and Nico. The latter was perfectly still beside him and had his eyes closed, which Martino took as an opportunity to let his eyes travel across his body. His eyes wandered from his arms, to his sharp collar bones, then to his chiseled abs, and finally ended his course on his prominent hip bones that sprung out of the hem of his shorts. Martino left his eyes there for a few minutes, taking in every little detail of his low abdomen while he could. If he didn’t know he was gay before, this would have most definitely confirmed it to him. Then Martino closed his eyes to try and get the nap he thought he needed earlier, but now it felt like the last thing he wanted to do with Nico laying close to him, all for himself. Niccolò suddenly shifted, propping himself on his arm to face Martino completely. Sleep was completely out of the question now.

“Hmm?” Martino had no energy left in him to utter a proper word.

“Nothing,” Nico’s soft smile returned yet again. Martino was getting spoiled out of his mind.

“Ok,” Martino chucked lightly, “nothing then.”

Martino closed his eyes again and pretended to drift to sleep. The truth is that he was all too aware of every little movement he sensed Niccolò make. Out of nowhere, he felt something on his skin, light particles were slowly dribbling on his left arm in a downward movement. Martino opened his eyes to see that Niccolò – the fucker had a little smirk on his face – had a hand full of sand right above his arm along which he was purposefully discharging the grains.

“What are you trying to do?” Martino failed miserably at trying to sound annoyed.

“Nothing,” Niccolò answered innocently, his head swaying in the way that he has.

“Is ‘nothing’ all you can say now?”

“Maybe.” Martino rolled his eyes, but still he didn’t take his arm away.

“I just thought you should get acquainted with the sand, you know, seeing as you are stuck on this beach with me.”

“Oh,” Martino didn’t expect this, “I thought you didn’t like that idea?”

“I don’t. But… I guess I wouldn’t mind it for a short time you know?”

Martino smiled in response, he didn’t know what else to say to that. He had a thousand questions whirling in his head that he wouldn’t risk ask out loud. What exactly did Niccolò mean by that? That he wouldn’t mind staying in Fregene for a while? Or that he’d like to stay here with Martino?

Niccolò’s kept on putting sand on him with a face of concentration, his dark curls falling in his eyes. Martino was once again incredibly endeared by the sight. Niccolò then moved from his arm to his chest, still letting the grains fall out of his hand slowly, sometimes forming a line, other times forming a geometrical shape. The grains would fall off of him with the constant up and down movement of his chest. Martino felt strangely aware of the way he was breathing, which in this case was too heavy for a person that was supposedly just relaxing on the beach. However, he didn’t feel uncomfortable, on the contrary, he liked the sensation of the grains prickling his skin, and then falling off him in what felt like a soft caress. Martino had a flitting thought that Niccolò was caressing his skin indirectly via sand grains. He could feel the shapes Niccolò formed on his skin even after they disappeared, as if they were permanently engraved in his epidermis. Martino didn’t want to move, he let himself feel all the sensations taking over his body without thinking of the why and what. But that was until he saw the group of boys in the distance walking towards them.

“Ok ok, that’s enough now, more and you’ll be burying me alive,” He told Niccolò, trying to sound as light as possible. He didn’t want Nico to think he didn’t like it. He sat up and brushed the sand off of him swiftly.

“Too bad, I would have loved to see that,” Niccolò didn’t look offended and was sporting his usual easy smile.

“Of course you would.”

The boys approached with bags in their hands, looking content.

“Hey,” Amir greeted them. Niccolò finally turned away from Martino to look at their friends.

“Hey,” Martino and Niccolò said in unison. Amir side-eyed them with a question in his eyes. Martino looked at Gio who also had a strange expression he couldn’t read. Martino noticed he had a couple of bags in his hands, “you bought some stuff?”

“Eh yes, I bought a t-shirt and some souvenirs for my mom and my little brother,” Gio answered him.

“Cool!”

Gio went to sit next to him, “what about you? What did you two do?”

“Nothing really, just relaxing.” Martino ironically thought of his answer, ‘nothing’.

“Ok…” He senses that Gio wants to ask him something but doesn’t dare to.

The boys described their errands to Marti and Nico, talking about the funny things they saw along the way, the food they ate etc. As they were talking over each other about whatever incident they saw, Martino couldn’t help but drift away from the conversation to think about the little moment he shared alone with Nico. He hoped they’d be more of those in the future. He glanced at him quickly and felt weirdly at peace with the fact he had the biggest crush on him and that there was no point trying to go against it. He might regret it in the long run, but for now he wanted to let himself enjoy this, little by little.

After the boys went over everything from their little escapade, they finally run to the sea to refresh. This time, they decided on playing chicken fight (*two people sit on somebody’s shoulders. They are positioned face to face, and the first one to make the other fall into the water or touch the water is the winner). Martino starts the first round on Gio’s shoulders, facing Aurelio on Amir’s shoulders. The first ordeal is to get on Gio’s shoulders in the first place, who is about the same built as Martino, and doesn’t have the best balance in existence. They do manage it after a few tries, only for Aurelio to quickly make him fall over face first. They’d do rounds after rounds, getting messier by the second, and Amir completely annihilating them one after the other. Then Niccolò called Martino to get on his shoulders, which he wasn’t mentally prepared for. Martino tried to hide his embarrassment behind sarcasm, as he often does, “nah I don’t think you’d manage to carry me, you’re too tiny remember?”. Except his sarcasm was falling flat because he once again called Niccolò “tiny”. Niccolò insisted, “come on, I assure you I can carry you, get on there!” Martino had no other choice than to touch Niccolò’s head for balance while sliding his legs over his shoulders, meaning he got to touch his hair in the process which he was immensely grateful for. Turns out Nico was indeed more than able to carry Martino, in fact much better than Gio, he had great balance and Martino felt stable on his shoulders. Martino had to get Nico’s wet curls out of his face for him to see. Martino might have taken the opportunity to run his fingers all throughout his dark mop; this game really was starting to become one of his favorites. Niccolò grabbed his ankles and Martino had a hard time focusing on anything else than the warm feel of his hands on his skin. In front of them, Luchino was taking forever to get on Stefano’s shoulders. The both of them together was a dangerous combination, Martino was expecting the worst. But he would be lying if he said he wasn’t glad for the added time he got to spend on Nico’s shoulders thanks to Luchino’s clumsiness. He liked the fact that they were standing as one, the two of them against the rest of the world. Luchino fell over dramatically in an umpteenth attempt to get on Stefano’s shoulders, which made Martino and Niccolò laugh loudly, Niccolò laughing with his whole body which made Martino vibrate as well. He then tilted his head back to look at Martino briefly, his hair tickling Marti’s belly in the most satisfying way. Martino had to physically restrain himself not to cradle his face with his hands. Luchino was finally able to stand on Stefano’s shoulders and they started fighting – if you can call it that. It resembled more a kitten fight than anything. Arms flailing aimlessly, pushing with what little force they had while trying to keep their balance. At some point, Martino is dangerously leaning to the side and Niccolò grabs his thighs for added support. It took him by surprise which almost had him fall over definitively before he recovered and managed to find his balance again. Martino ended up grabbing Luchino’s arm and pulled him to his defeat. Martino and Niccolò cheered loudly and Martino felt a brief squeeze on his ankles where Niccolò’s hands were sitting. Martino gets off his shoulders swiftly and Nico smiles his biggest smile to him. Admittedly, Martino isn’t big on competition and yet he has never enjoyed winning more in his life.

Next and final round was between Niccolò and Elia, who were sitting on Aurelio and Amir respectively. Niccolò won over Elia easily. This prompted Amir to congratulate him, patting him on the back, “nice job Nico, who would have thought you’d be so good at standing straight”. Amir said this suggestively, like a private joke than the rest of boys weren’t in on. Niccolò rolled his eyes and pushed him away from him playfully. Martino couldn’t help but analyze what Amir just said, “standing straight”, “straight”… Does it mean what he thinks it does? Martino felt something new creep up his mind, a new feeling, one of hope. Of hope for his crush to not be unrequited like he’d thought, and of hope for a better future where he gets to be himself completely, with no secrets, no restrains. Niccolò turned to him and bore his soft green eyes into his, amplifying this feeling even more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hesitate to tell me what you thought of it in the comments. Also, you can chat with me on Tumblr, @probablydaydreamingg. You don't want to miss the next chapter, so stay tuned ;)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys go to Anzio for the day. Marti and Nico explore together and discover new territories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand that's another long chapter for you!  
> This one was a little nerve wracking but I'm really excited for you to read it!  
> Don't hesitate to tell me what you think of it :)   
> Hope you enjoy!

Martino lifted his head to let the cool water spray his face, washing away the moisture that had accumulated on his skin over the night. He took this rare moment of solitude to think back of the events of the day before. He would see fragments of images on his closed eyelids, all revolving around one person. Niccolò’s black curls, Niccolò’s eyes, Niccolò’s smile, Niccolò’s blue trunks, Niccolò’s low abdomen... Niccolò was in each and every corner of his mind, surrounding him in the way the droplets of water were in that moment, light, comforting, a curtain between him and the rest of the world. Something that made him feel calm and secure. Martino had never felt this way before, and if it was too much at times, he was relieved to know feelings like these existed, that he was able to experience them, and that – no matter the outcome – someone like Niccolò existed in the same time and place as him. Martino wasn’t much of a romantic, he was fine being on his own. Once he had gotten over his crush on Gio, he didn’t look for a “rebound” and came to the conclusion that it was best to stir away from any cute boy for a while. But there was something about Nico that completely made him forget his resolution, an invisible pull that he couldn’t resist, and didn’t want to. It was an indescribable thing, something unpalpable and yet so present all at once.

All clean and refreshed, Martino returned to their tent where he found Elia laying on his mattress, who was too engrossed in the football magazine he was reading to pay him any attention. Martino headed to his part of the tent and checked on his phone to find he had an unread text waiting for him. It was from Nico. Or rather, from “Niccolò Fregene.”

**Niccolò Fregene** : Hey Marti, everything ok? I hope you ended up in the right tent last night ahah. I wanted to tell you we are planning to go to Anzio for the day. Aurelio’s cousin has a van that we can borrow to drive there. Do you guys want to join us?

Martino felt joy rising from deep inside his chest to his lips that were slowly stretching into an irrepressible smile. Niccolò sent _him_ a text. Well, it’s not like he had any other option to reach them, but still. Martino collapsed on his mattress and proceeded to respond to him.

**Martino:** Hey! Sadly I didn’t scare anyone to death last night. What is there to do in Anzio? You want to make sure you’re not stuck in Fregene, I see.

Martino stared at his phone screen, barely blinking, waiting for a response to appear. He didn’t have to wait for long before his phone pinged, indicating Nico had responded to him.

**Niccolò Fregene** : Ahah no. Or, maybe? The boys brought up this idea, I don’t know.

Martino didn’t miss a beat to respond. He felt like messing with Nico a little.

**Martino** : So you just expect us to follow you all anywhere? Is that it? You know it’s not ok to take advantage of younger folks.

**Niccolò Fregene** : What? No ^^. It just so happens that Aurelio knows some nice spots there and it’s always good to change it up a bit. Of course it’s up to you.

And then another text before Martino had the time to reply.

**Niccolò Fregene** : So what if I told you it has a regular beach with nothing special to do? Would you rather stay in Fregene then?

**Martino** : I might yes.

**Niccolò Fregene** : I’m offended.

**Martino** : I thought it was up to me?

**Niccolò Fregene** : Yes…

Martino knew his texts could read as rather harsh to people that weren’t used to it. He hoped that Nico didn’t feel put off by it, and that he understood he was just joking around.

**Martino** : I’m just messing with you! I’ll ask the boys hold on.  

Since Gio and Luca were back from their shower, Martino told them about Niccolò’s proposition; The three of them were super enthusiastic about the idea. A getaway inside the getaway, double the pleasure. Martino informed Nico straight away, taking his phone back in his hands eagerly.

**Martino** : The boys are up for it!

**Niccolò Fregene** : Cool! And you are too right?

**Martino** : Yes Nico, I was just kidding!

**Niccolò Fregene:** Ok ok 😊

**Martino** : When and where are we meeting?

**Niccolò Fregene:** We’re picking you up in front of the campsite entrance in about an hour, if that’s ok with you.

**Martino** : Ok, sounds great! See you then 😊

**Niccolò Fregene** : See you 😊

Martino smiled to himself while staring at the last text. He couldn’t wait to see Nico again.

 

The van pulled up in front of the campsite entrance at half past eleven. The contrabbandieri had been giddily waiting for a couple of minutes and waved like fools once they saw the van appear out of the corner.

“Hey boys, hop on in!” Amir exclaimed excitedly from the passenger seat, his head popping out of the opened window.

The four boys rushed in to get the best seats, inevitably bickering in the process. Martino managed to get second row where Stefano and Niccolò were already sitting. He had never been so fast in his life. Of course, this was all to spite his best friends, not so that he could sit right next to Nico for the one-hour drive to Anzio. Once he was sat, Martino turned to look at his best friends in the back row and brag.

“I beat you all! I hope you remember this whenever you criticize my physical shape,” he snickered.

“This is hardly about shape Marti, but whatever,” Elia responded bitterly.

Martino turned to sit properly and greeted the two boys next to him. Niccolò offered him his favorite smile and warm eyes – he told him “Hey Marti” in his soft low voice. All felt good in the world.

“Ok guys, welcome onboard!” Aurelio exclaimed from the driver seat with the tone of a tourist guide. He seemed to be enjoying this a lot.

“Onboard? Are we in a plane or something?” interrupted Stefano. Martino laughed at that. He really did like him.

“Shut up Stefanalo,” Aurelio retorted without breaking character, and then resumed his little speech, “welcome to the van of dreams! We hope you will have a comfortable journey to Anzio in our state-of-the-art vehicle. And please, fasten your seatbelts… or I will come for your necks.”

“I don’t have a seatbelt,” Luchino shouted from the back, prompting all boys to burst out laughing.

“Well, find a way to fasten your seatbelt, I don’t care,” Aurelio concluded, putting the vehicle into gear.

“You see what I have to put up with everyday?” Niccolò turned to Martino, focusing all his attention on him.

“Uh, It’s not worse than what _I_ have to deal with. You didn’t even see the worst of it,” Martino told him, with a smile at the corner of his lips.

They both looked back at the three boys behind them, who were now loudly talking about their last FIFA game, speaking over each other and finding creative ways to express their aggravation, both with their words and their hands. Martino and Niccolò looked at each other and chuckled. Martino was getting lost in Niccolò’s shiny eyes when he suddenly remembered something.

“Oh, by the way you didn’t disintegrate. You’re officially not stuck in this other dimension.”

“Yes, I’m glad,” responded Niccolò, amused, and then added mysteriously, “unless this is my one free pass of the year which would explain it.”

“What the hell are you two talking about?” asked Stefano with a confused look on his face. Martino had almost forgotten of his presence, too engrossed in his conversation with Niccolò.

“Ah nothing, this is some made up scenario Marti came up with,” Nico told him.

“Made up scenario?” Martino raised his eyebrows indignantly, “I’m sorry but this is a very valid scenario.”

“Hmm okay,” Stefano chuckled, still looking confused by what this was all about.

As they were chatting with Stefano, Marti couldn’t help checking Niccolò out out of the corner of his eye. He wasn’t sure how much Nico contributed to his body rising in temperature in the secluded vehicle. He was wearing dark blue shorts with an open white shirt, his bare torso masterfully framed by the white tissue, looking so ethereally beautiful that it made Martino lose his mind. He couldn’t stop thinking of running his hand across his soft looking torso before resting his hand on his hip, or of the sensations it would procure him to hold him close, skin against skin… Martino shook his head to try and get his thoughts in order and put his sunglasses on, even though he didn’t need them, to look more composed. He opened the window to his right and welcomed the soft breeze that somewhat refreshed the air around him and his whirling mind. If he was being honest, the relief was only momentary as his mind was back to overdrive with every accidental brush of their arms, knees, thighs. It was both the most torturous and pleasant ride Martino had ever experienced.

Once they arrived to their destination, Aurelio was back to endorsing his role of guide with utter dedication. He talked them through the points of interest of the city and told anecdotes from his times there. Niccolò, Stefano and Amir looked like they’d heard those stories a million times before and were barely humoring him, while Luchino was egging him on without never tiring. They walked around the city center for a bit, wandering in the streets at a slow pace and entering shops that piqued their interest. They finally stopped at a panini place to fill their craving stomachs before heading towards the beach. All the while Martino had been trying to distract himself from a certain dark-haired boy by chatting with Elia and Stefano. He would sometimes catch passersby staring at Niccolò’s face and chest for a bit too long, mostly girls but not only, which irked him more than he would admit. It’s not so much that he was surprised by the fact but rather that it made him realize how slim his chances were that someone like Nico would actually be interested in a plain looking boy like him. His mood was dangerously dipping down as their feet hit the sand.

Aurelio took them straight to one of its preferred spots on the rocks from where they could do jumps. Luchino stripped in a second and was the first one to jump, performing the infamous bomb jump resulting in all the boys getting splashed in the process. To retaliate, Amir and Gio grabbed Luchino the moment he came back up to swing him back into the water. It was only the beginning of a series of shenanigans that ensued. Each of the boys had to go through the same ritual of being swung into the sea in a mess of limbs, held by their extremities and hitting the water in a loud splash. Martino noticed after a while that Niccolò distanced himself from the group, walking further away from the beach towards a horizon of rocks. Spurred by something he couldn’t describe, Martino walked as fast as the hazardous surface permitted him to catch up with Nico.

“Hey, where are you going?” He asked him. Nico looked surprised to see him, but the look on his face was quickly replaced by one of determination.

“Come with me, I know a place.” Nico started walking again, but then turned around when he realized Martino hadn’t made a move.  

“Wait, I thought Aurelio was our guide,” Martino squinted his eyes.

“Well, I know some spots too.”

“So, you’ve been here before?” Martino had a hard time following him.

“I’ve been here before,” Niccolò said matter-of-factly, appearing to have no intention to elaborate.

“And?” Martino urged him, getting a little impatient.

“And well that’s it,” he chuckled in response, looking unbothered. He grabbed Martino’s wrist to lead him forward. Martino didn’t know what to argue to that, and truthfully didn’t want to, so he looked behind to check on the other boys; who were too busy messing around to pay them any attention. It would take them a while to realize they were gone – or so Martino told himself. He turned around and let himself be led by Niccolò whose hand was still encircling his wrist. He only broke contact when he had no other choice than to use his two hands to climb down a steeper slope. Martino glanced behind him again and realized they were now completely out of sight from the boys, and from anyone else. It was just him and Nico, the rocks below their feet and the sea stretching to infinity.

“Remember what I told you about influencing younger folks?” Martino broke the silence.

“Oh, come on Marti. I promise I’m not gonna kidnap you,” Niccolò said with a little shake of his head.

“Hmm, whatever you say.”

“Or I might? I don’t know. Don’t tempt me,” Niccolò told him with a smile threatening to break his face. Martino rolled his eyes, while the voice in his head squeaked at the thought.

They kept on hiking the rocks in silence for a bit. Nico was always one step ahead of Marti, this way he was able to stare at his back which wasn’t covered by a shirt anymore. He could see his muscles moving and tensing with each effort, his shoulder blades popping out. To him, this qualified as a contemporary masterpiece without question. He was so hypnotized by the sight that he tripped on hazardous rocks several times. On the third time, Niccolò turned around, probably alerted by the sound.

“Are you ok? … Do you want me to carry you?” He asked, smug.

“Pfff what? No. I now how to walk alright.”

“Ok...” He chuckled with his adorable crinkly eyes. They resumed walking, now side by side. Nico waited a beat before saying, “can I ask you something?”

“Sure, whatever you want.”

“Have you ever been in a relationship?” Niccolò glanced at him quickly before bowing his head.

Martino was caught off guard, “Hum, no, not really.”

“Not really?” Nico prompted.

“No, I mean, I was sort of dating this girl at school. But really all we did was hooking up at parties and stuff, and it didn’t last long.” Even hooking up was too big a word, if Martino was being honest with himself.

“Oh ok. Nothing else?” Niccolò looked up to Martino, keeping his eyes on him this time.

“No, nothing else,” Martino shook his head. He took the opening to ask about what he’d be wanting to know since the first day he met him, “what about you? You were with someone uh… Maddalena, is that right?

“Yes, Maddalena,” Niccolò took a deep breath before continuing, “we were together for about four years.”

“Four years?” Martino almost gasped, his eyebrows rising, “sounds like a lifetime.”

“Yeah, kind of was,” Niccolò turned pensive. “We were friends for years before we started dating. It just happened naturally, it felt right at the time. Being with her was easy, comfortable… stable,” Niccolò gulped, “and then I realized we were more friends than lovers. Always had been.”

“Hmm,” Martino wasn’t sure what to make of this information.

“I mean I don’t regret it or anything. But I’m glad it’s over.”

“Oh… ok. I can’t really imagine what it would be like. To be dating someone for so long I mean.”

“Trust me, it wasn’t that special. We had fallen in a routine, in the end we barely ever fucked, if you see what I mean…”

“… I see,” Martino chuckled, slightly embarrassed. There was something else on his mind he wanted to ask. “Uh, I was also wondering… How come you had to retake your final year?”

Staring at the horizon, Niccolò didn’t answer straight away. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Hmm really? Were you a delinquent or something?” Martino asked incredulous. He had a hard time picturing that.

“I told you, you wouldn’t believe it,” Niccolò shrugged.

“Ok let’s hear it then, what did you do?” Martino stopped in his tracks. He was really curious to know what Nico could have possibly done.

“I’m not saying. Later, maybe,” Nico had stopped as well, sporting an unreadable expression.

“Nico stop teasing!”

“Ok, ok, I’ll tell you one thing.” Niccolò had his whole attention. “I’ve done some fucked up things. I created a mess, disturbed classes, broke equipment, got into fights… all because of new powers I couldn’t control.”

“What? New powers? What are you talking about?” Martino was bewildered.

“Yes. Powers. Supernatural powers if you’d like. I was hit by thunder one day and…”

Martino had to interrupt him, “come on, this is bullshit.”

“No, not at all! I can assure you. You told me yourself yesterday that I look like I could be from another dimension. Here’s your explanation.” Niccolò _was_ looking out of this world after all. And he was so very serious in that moment that Martino was inclined to trust him even though his story made no sense whatsoever.

“Ok, show me those powers you claim you have then,” Martino challenged him.

“I can’t do that right now. They only manifest at specific times. And I’m not able to control them fully yet. I’d risk hurting you.” His expression was impassible.

“So how am I supposed to trust you?”

“You just do… or you don’t. My powers are part of me, but they don’t define me. You don’t have to get to know that part of me yet.” There was something in his eyes he couldn’t decipher, a message that Martino didn’t have the tools to decode. Before a dumbfounded Marti could say anything, Niccolò added, smug, “one thing you should know is that I glow in the dark.”

Martino couldn’t take this anymore, “you’re messing with me.”

Niccolò let out a giggle he most probably had been holding all this time.

“I can’t believe you! You’re an asshole!”

Niccolò was full on laughing now, bending in two, his laughter resonating in the empty space around them. Martino felt so stupid for going along with his absurd story. He set his body in motion to start walking again, not waiting on Niccolò who was still laughing his ass off.

“Wait Marti!” Nico called him.

“No!”

“Wait!”

“Why don’t you use your ‘supernatural’ powers to catch up, eh?” If Niccolò hadn’t witnessed a petty Marti before, he would see it now.

“Hey, I’m sorry Marti. The opportunity was too good to pass,” Niccolò exclaimed behind him, getting closer by the second. Why was Marti so slow?

“Bambi, wait!” Niccolò was almost at his level now.

Martino finally stopped and turned around, “what did you call me?”

“… Bambi.” Niccolò looked like he hadn’t mean to say this out loud.

“You can’t call me that!”

“Why not? I like it.” Nico was the picture-perfect image of innocent and pure. Martino wanted to argue, to tell him that he couldn’t call him like this, ever, but the words couldn’t pass the threshold of his adoration for Nico.

He sighed, “ok, whatever. Are we getting to that ‘spot’ you talked about?”

“Yes, we are, I believe it’s right around the next corner.” Niccolò led the way again.

Following the shoreline, the rocks gave way to a large pool of water covered by an arch. A cave. Martino was stunned. The spot was worth the hike. Now all he wanted to do was to jump into the appealing water. He turned to Nico and smiled softly at him, his expression mirroring his own.

“Do you like it?”

“Yeah! It’s amazing.”

“Then what are you waiting for, get into the water!”

“I will, in a second. What are _you_ waiting f-“ Martino didn’t have the time to finish his sentence before Niccolò took him by surprise and pushed him. Martino pulled him down with him so that they hit the water together in a mess of limbs. Martino came back to the surface and stood ready to splash Nico in the face the moment he resurfaces. A splashing battle ensued, which then turned into a drowning battle. Martino couldn’t even be bothered by the salty water in his mouth, or the wet hair in his eyes, he only cared that he was with Nico, that he felt close to him both physically and mentally in a way he had never experienced before. They were both laughing so hard that they had to take a time off to catch their breath. Their loud respirations echoed on the walls of the cave, giving the moment a special aura. A peculiar sound that will forever stay engrained in his memory. Niccolò was staring straight into his eyes, never wavering. His green eyes were more vibrant than ever, gleaming with water reflection. Martino could have stared at them forever without ever getting bored.

The smile on Niccolò’s lips was growing, and Martino couldn’t prevent a chuckle from escaping his lips when he asked, “what?”

“Nothing,” he responded, smitten as ever.

“Oh, so we’re back to ‘nothing’ again.”

“Yes… Get used to it.”

“Why should I get used to it?”

“Because I don’t plan on stopping. I’ll be annoying you for a while.”

Martino had his come back stuck in his throat. His mouth was slightly ajar, surprised by Nico’s words and the tone of his voice. Adding to the fact that Nico was getting closer and closer to him, distracting him further from forming any coherent sentence.

“Unless… you want me to,” Niccolò backtracked, looking unsure.

“I don’t want you to,” Martino assured him. It didn’t register to him immediately what he was admitting to Nico.

“No?”

“No,” Martino said firmly. He felt braver than he ever was.

Niccolò’s face was getting dangerously close to his, and Martino found himself staring at his lips. His perfect plump lips, glistening with water. He so badly wanted to taste them, to kiss them. In a swift movement, Niccolò closed the space between them and captured Martino’s open lips in his, pressing gently. He broke the kiss as fast as he initiated it, making Martino wonder if he had imagined it. As he was frozen on the spot, Nico was scrutinizing his eyes in search for a response. Martino managed to snap out of it, and to give Niccolò the confirmation he was waiting for. It was his turn to close the space between them to cradle Nico’s face in his hands and to envelop his lips with his own. They were so soft and full, Martino very quickly became addicted to the sensation. It was all he could think about in that moment, and he didn’t want to stop. Their mouths quickly found a rhythm, softly brushing against one another, their heads tilting on one side, then on the other, as if they wanted to taste from all angles. Martino lost track of time, he didn’t know how long they had been kissing before they had to break it to catch their breath. The moment their mouths separated, their lips stretched into irrepressible smiles. Martino couldn’t believe what was happening but looking at Nico’s warm smile and excitement reflecting back at him somewhat grounded him. It wasn’t long before Nico chased after Marti’s lips again, his fingers finding their place on the back of his head. Their kisses were hungrier now, their lips crashed messily, and Nico nudged Marti’s lips to open them up and slide his tongue in to deepen the kiss. Even though they didn’t want to let the other stir away for too long, they had to catch their breath from time to time, both because of the effort staying afloat required and because of the vigorous kissing. Each time they would have to break the kiss their beaming eyes and huge smiles would fill the space between them. Martino had never felt so in tune with his feelings; nothing had ever felt so right and encompassing.  

A stone tumbled down into the water, the sharp sound echoing on the walls of the cave. Martino and Niccolò abruptly turned towards the source of the sound, backing away from each other. Two unknown silhouettes were now standing on the rocks from where they jumped.

“Ciao! Sorry for disturbing you,” one of them said.

Niccolò recovered quicker than Martino, “No problem. It’s a public space.”

The two strangers clearly had the intention of settling in and were now undressing to get into the water. It only took one glance between Martino and Niccolò to communicate to each other that it was time for them to leave the place. They climbed the rocks back up and Nico offered Marti a hand which he eagerly took. He didn’t let go of it once they were firmly standing on the track. As they started walking in the direction of the beach, none of them spoke for a while. They would glance at each other with a lopsided grin that wouldn’t leave their face.

Martino still hadn’t registered what had just happened. He was on a cloud he didn’t want to step down from, and he feared that if they started talking he would be brought back to reality. A reality he didn’t want to think of for now.

A whisper broke the silence, “Bambi”. Niccolò looked pensive himself, he was staring at their adjoined hands that were winging between them with the biggest grin on his face. It seemed like he had whispered this to himself rather than to Martino.

“What is it?” Marti inquired.

“Uh? Oh, so you’ve accepted your new nickname then.” Niccolò broke out of his reverie.

“No, I didn’t. But there isn’t much I can do about it. Plus, nothing can get to me right now, I’m just too happy.”

Niccolò’s grin stretched into the biggest and brightest smile Martino had seen on him, “you are?”

“Hmm,” he nodded, “aren’t you?”

“I am, I really am.”

They got lost in each other’s eyes until Niccolò’s drifted to his lips. Martino wanted nothing but to kiss him again. They may have kissed for long minutes, but it hadn’t been enough to quench his thirst. Without much of a warning, Niccolò crowded him against the nearest rock and attacked his lips, his warm hands cupping Marti’s face. He gave him one more peck before pulling back to look into Martino’s eyes with a cheeky grin. Martino leaned even closer to nudge his nose with his own. He couldn’t contain the smile he felt growing on his lips.

“Do you attack people like this often?” Martino asked. Their faces were so close that he almost brushed Niccolò’s lips as he spoke.

“No. Only one cute boy with freckles and red curls.” Niccolò shook his head adorably.

“Ah…” Martino was transfixed by Niccolò’s eyes. He was getting high on the attention Nico was giving him.

Niccolò moved his thumbs in soothing motions over Martino’s cheeks, who was melting under the touch. Marti’s body started moving on his own accord; he pulled Nico to him by his sides, fondling the smooth patch of skin over his hips. Even though he had never been with a boy before, these affectionate gestures came natural to him. He felt extremely comfortable and relaxed with Nico, and he hoped he was feeling the same. Martino pulled him ever closer so that their abdomens were touching, skin against skin, exactly how he had imagined earlier in the van. Martino could read so many things in Nico’s eyes. He had many questions to ask, but what he saw in the green whirlwinds of his irises was ample enough for now. Martino pressed his lips to his softly, and then again, all the while encircling his lower back with his arms. Entranced by the touch, Niccolò closed his eyes and lazily moved his lips in what felt like a caress to Martino’s lips.

Martino reluctantly pulled back a little, “Uh, Ni?” He suddenly realized they had been gone for a while and that the boys might be looking for them.

“Hmm,” Nico barely made a sound in response. His eyes were still closed. He was looking so relaxed and unbothered, Martino felt bad for breaking the momentum.

“I hate to say that but…We should go back to the boys or they’ll worry.”

“Hmm yes, you’re right.” Niccolò didn’t make a move to step back as he said that. Martino chuckled, which prompted Niccolò to open his eyes slowly. He grinned softly and detangled himself from Martino’s embrace.

“Alright let’s go.” Niccolò took his hand again, and they chatted lightly until the beach was in view again. Martino moved his hand away and glanced at Nico to convey the message. Nico looked back at him with a look of understanding.

The boys were still in the same spot they left them, now drying on their towels. Amir was the first one to spot them, “Hey boys! Here you are! We thought we’d lost you.”

“Hey, sorry for not warning you. We just hiked a bit,” Nico told him.

“Yeah no problem, we figured that.” Amir looked like he wanted to say something more but didn’t.

Martino tried to hide his embarrassment by occupying himself. He went to sit next to his three best friends who looked at him expectantly. In particular Gio and Elia who, Martino noticed, shared a look.

“Hey, did anything fun happen?” Martino asked them to diffuse the tension.

Luchino started going on a rant about the things Martino had missed. As he was speaking, Gio turned to Martino discreetly and spoke to him in a low voice so that only he could hear, “next time, remember to warn us if you’re going anywhere. I don’t want your mom to kill me if anything happened to you.” Gio wasn’t looking upset per say, but he wasn’t looking too amused by the situation either. Martino nodded, “yeah, sorry about that.”

As the boys fell back into harmless banter, Martino stole a glance at Nico, who was already looking at him. They smiled to each other in a reassuring manner. The reality he had been able to forget while he was with Nico was now coming back to him in full force. After getting a taste of what it was like to be with Nico, Martino wanted to spend as much time with him as possible for the rest of their vacation. But he was confronted with a dilemma – letting his feelings for Nico develop meant he wouldn’t be able to hide it from his best friends forever. He was screwed.

Around six, the boys made their way to the van to drive back to Fregene. This time, Martino was sandwiched between Niccolò and Amir in the back. The ride was total chaos, the boys singing and dancing messily on their seats to the songs on the radio. There was always one person that would scream to change the station because he couldn’t stand the song that was on. Martino felt his spirits go back up, and his body was still buzzing with the excitement of what had happened in the cave. As Niccolò was chatting excitedly with Amir, Martino could leisurely stare at him. His heart was thumping in his chest as images of them kissing flashed before his eyes. Even when he wasn’t talking to him, Niccolò was always touching him one way or another, his body closer to him than necessary. The touch felt different than when they were sitting to each other on their way to Anzio – this time each brush of skin felt like a soft comforting caress. At some point, Amir and Niccolò were singing along to a tune, and Nico tried to get Martino to sing along too. Martino could never resist Nico’s big and infectious smile, so he caved in.

Once they were in Fregene, Aurelio dropped the contrabbandieri off to their campsite. Martino felt his heart pinch at having to leave Nico, even though it would only be for a few hours since they agreed to meet up again on the beach as they had done the previous days. Niccolò squeezed his thigh discreetly before he stood up and got out of the van.

 

Knocked down by the day they spent at Anzio, the boys weren’t as loud as usual as they were hanging out on the beach. The weed wasn’t helping either in getting them out of their state of lethargy. Niccolò glanced at Martino with purpose before standing up to go to the toilet, or so he said to the group. Martino immediately stood up as well and declared that he would accompany him. He had been waiting to talk to him alone for hours now and couldn’t wait any longer. Once they were at a fair distance from the group, they deviated to go walk along the water edge.

 “How are you?” Niccolò asked him, a little hesitant.

“I’m good. Really good actually.”

“That’s great. I’m really good too,” Niccolò smiled softly at him, “I just wanted to say, it’s fine if you want to keep this between us. I understand.”

“It’s… It’s that I’m not out. Not to anyone.”

“You don’t have to be if you’re not ready. But I’m sure the boys wouldn’t mind.”

Martino sighed, “maybe… I’ll tell them, soon. What about you?”

“Me?”

“Are you out?”

“Yeah pretty much. I mean the boys know that gender doesn’t matter to me. And my parents too. They don’t really understand though, sometimes they act like it’s some whim of mine. But I know they’ll get it, later down the road.”

“Must be nice to be sure of that.”

“Don’t worry about it too much Marti. I promise you it will get easier. And if somebody ever reacts badly about it, it’s not on you.”

“I know.” Martino swallowed with difficulty. He felt relieved from Nico’s words but also on the brink of tears.

“What do you think your parents would say?” Nico prompted.

“They’d… Well, my dad doesn’t care about anything that concerns me. He has a new family now. So… And my mom, I don’t know. I don’t think she’d react badly. But I don’t know if she’d be happy about it either, you know.” Martino lowered his head and toyed with the sand with his foot.

“I’m sure they’ll come around either way,” Niccolò said in a reassuring tone.

Then, he linked his pinky with Martino’s. This made Martino look up. There was so much fondness in Nico’s eyes and gesture. It’s crazy how the slightest of touch from Nico would bring him a complete sense of comfort. Marti wanted to believe Nico. He wanted to believe it won’t always be this complicated. That he won’t always have to hide and pretend to the people that mattered the most to him. If there was something he knew for sure, it’s that what he felt in this instant, what he saw in Nico’s eyes, there was nothing wrong about it. And anyone who thought otherwise were the wrong ones.

“There’s only one thing you should be focusing on,” Niccolò said suddenly, determined.

“And what is that?” Martino sensed his mouth stretching into a smile. It was the Nico effect.

“That… I want to be with you.”

“You do?” His voice broke slightly.

Nico nodded, “Yes. The question is, do you want to be with me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I ended the chapter on this line because I can ;)  
> Thank you for reading! As always, any feedback is appreciated.   
> You can chat with me on Tumblr @probablydaydreamingg  
> Stay tuned for next chapters ;)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marti and Nico find a way to spend some time together. Marti opens up and the boys go to a club.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is another long chapter! Sorry for the delay.  
> I hope you enjoy :)

“How was yesterday?” Martino was taking a stroll around the campsite as he was on the phone with his mom. Gesticulating kids would run around him and scream every step of the way. Strangely, it didn’t annoy him in the slightest.

“Great, great. I didn’t feel like doing much. I relaxed and read a bit.” His mom responded on the other end of the phone. Her tone was genuine which reassured Marti.

“Good. I hope you soaked that vitamin D.”

“Ahah, I did Marti. I did.” And then added, “What about you? Did you do anything fun?”

“Yes actually, we went to Anzio yesterday.” Martino realized his mistake too late. Now he would have to explain why and how they went there. He closed his eyes, waiting for the sentence to fall.

“What? You didn’t tell me about it.” His mom was definitely sounding apprehensive now.

“I’m telling you now,” Martino tried to reason.

“Marti… You should always warn me beforehand whenever you do something like this. We’ve already talked about it a million times.” She sounded so tired, it made Marti feel bad.

“Mom… Listen, it was a last-minute decision, I didn’t think to tell you.”

“It costs nothing to send a text Martino. It’s the least you can do,” she reprimanded him.

“I know, I’m sorry.”

She softened a bit, “It’s fine. Just remember to do it next time… So how did you get there?”

Martino hesitated, should he tell her the truth or not? He decided he didn’t want to lie to her. If there’s something he learned in the past months, is that holding stuff from his mom wasn’t helping their situation.

“We...” Martino cleared his throat, “we went there with a group of boys we met on the beach.”

“Ok… who drove?” Martino sensed her inquisitor mode was activated.

“One of them. He has a cousin who lives in Fregene and we took his van.”

“How old are they?”

“They’re a bit older than us. 2 years older.”

“Alright… I hope you were being safe,” she sighed, “so you had a good time then? You get along with those boys?”

“Yes, they’re really nice, really chill.” Martino couldn’t help thinking of Nico. He wanted to tell her about him. To tell her there was a boy with incredibly warm eyes and smile, who made him feel things he’d never felt before. But he couldn’t do that, not yet. He tried to tell her in his own way, “I really get along with one of them in particular.”

“Yes? That’s nice.”

“It is.”

“What’s his name?”

“Niccolò. You’d like him a lot, I think.” Martino was glad she couldn’t see him blush. It felt both scary and liberating to be able to say his name out loud in this way. It was as if he was fixating his name in the space around him - it didn’t belong solely to his head anymore. Now that his mom knew of his name, it couldn’t disappear in thin air.

“Does he live in Rome or somewhere else?”

“In Rome, yes. Maybe you’ll meet him someday.”

“Well, I’d love to!” Martino smiled softly. He would always be glad for his mom’s kindness and openness.

 

After hanging up, Martino went back to the tent feeling somewhat lighter. Gio, Elia and Luchino were in front, eating their breakfast and chatting.

“Hey Marti! How’s your mom?” Gio asked him as he sat with them.

“Good! She almost had an aneurysm because I didn’t tell her we went to Anzio yesterday. Other than, she seems to be doing good.”

“Trust me, I’ve decided it’s better to never mention it to my dad. But it’s great if she’s doing good,” Gio smiled at him in the way he reserves for his best friend.

“Yeah… It kinda slipped my mouth involuntarily.”

“So… you didn’t tell us, what did you with Nico yesterday?” Elia asked suddenly while munching on his biscuit.

“Uh? I told you, we just walked a bit,” Martino had to try his hardest not to stumble on his words, “we found a cave. Well… Nico knew of this cave and he showed it to me. We swam, and we came back.” Martino reigned in his expression as much as he could.

“Ok. But why did you leave, just the two of you?” Elia insisted.

“Ok Elia, why do you need to know?” Gio interrupted, “are you jealous or something?”

“Jealous? Of who?” Elia responded as if it was the most absurd idea he’d ever heard.

“I don’t know, bro. He’s allowed to spend time with whoever.” Marti wanted nothing but to hug his best friend in his instant, who somehow always knew when to cover for him. Gio added, “ok moving on, I was thinking, I really want to skate right now, I wish I had my skateboard.”

It’s all it took to distract Elia from the subject of Marti and Nico, “woah we didn’t skate in ages. Is there a skate park around here?”

“Yes, I’ve seen one near the beach,” Gio answered.

“We should go. We could always ask some guys there to lend us their boards,” Luchino intervened. Martino, Gio and Elia exchanged a look and snickered.

“Why are you laughing?” Luchino asked them. He seemed completely oblivious as to what went through his friends’ mind.

“Honestly Luchino, do you remember the last time you tried to skate?” Martino reminded him.

“And? You’re not better than me.”

“He’s got a point,” Elia conceded.

“What? No, no, no. Ok I’m not the best, but Luchi you literally fell after two seconds last time. And after that you ran into a lamppost.” Gio and Elia burst out laughing at the thought.

“This image is engrained in my brain forever,” Elia said through his incontrollable laughter.

 

They ended up going to the skate park and managed to cop two skateboards. It was mostly Gio and Elia who skated while Marti and Luchi cheered them on. Martino didn’t stay focused more than a few minutes before his mind wandered back to the events of the day before. Even though he’d been thinking about it non-stop since the moment he said goodbye to Nico, he still couldn’t believe what had happened. Sometimes he would wonder if it was all just a dream, but then he remembered he wasn’t imaginative enough to come up with such a scenario. He kissed Nico. He _kissed_ him. Multiple times. Nico told him he wanted to be with him and Martino returned the sentiment through flushed cheeks and love-filled eyes. It struck him in this instant that Nico essentially was… his boyfriend. Martino wanted to say it out loud, feel the sensation of the word coming out of his lips. But he couldn’t. Not for now. As he was deep in thoughts, he felt a buzz in his pocket. Nico sent him a text.

 **Niccolò Fregene:** Where are you? <3

 **Martino** : We’re at the skate park! Are you on the beach already? We’ll go there soon <3

 **Niccolò Fregene** : Yes we are! skate park? Are you a skater boy? ^^

 **Martino** :  Ahah no… sorry to disappoint. I suck at it.

 **Niccolò Fregene** : I’m not disappointed 😊

 **Martino** : Ok ^^

 **Niccolò Fregene** : I’ll be waiting for you to get your ass here then.

Martino felt so giddy it was embarrassing. He couldn’t stay still, buzzing with excitement at the thought of seeing Nico. He looked around him to check if anyone was looking at him, glanced at Luchino next to him, but the latter was staring in awe at the tricks of a particularly skilled skater. If Martino had a hard time controlling himself because of texts Nico sent to him, he feared for how he’d react once he’ll see Nico in the flesh again.

 **Martino:** On second thought, me and my ass might not come.

 **Niccolò Fregene** : …☹ why

 **Martino:** Because I won’t be able to control myself when I see you.

 **Niccolò Fregene:** Ahah… We’ll find a way to escape 😉

This was enough to make him lose all restrain. Now all he wanted was to get to the beach as fast as possible.

“Hey Gio, Eli!” He shouted.

“What?”

“Are you done embarrassing yourselves?”

“Fuck you Marti!” Elia shouted back as he passed by them on his board, not stopping.

 

The boys made it to their usual spot on the beach about half an hour later, and Martino had to stop himself from running there. He kept repeating the same words in his head: keep it cool Marti, keep it cool. But how was he supposed to keep it cool when Nico seemed to be even more beautiful than the day before? As they were greeting the four boys, Nico reserved him a special smile and a pair of bright eyes. Marti couldn’t do any different than respond to him with one of his uncontrollable lopsided smiles. If Martino didn’t think he was screwed before…

There wasn’t a free spot to lay down his towel next to Nico, which was probably for the best, so he settled next to Amir.

“So, how is it going?” Amir asked him. There was always so much warmth coming off of him, Martino could easily understand why he was Nico’s best friend.

“Good, really good. We went to the skate park, no major fall to report. It’s kind of sad, really.” Amir chuckled. “What about you?”

“Good as well, me and Nico went for a run this morning. There were no tourists around, it felt nice.”

“Do you do that often? Morning runs I mean.”

“Yes, about once a week. And then we go to the gym together about once a week as well.”

“That’s some dedication. I wish I could relate,” Martino chuckled lightly.

“It can be hard at first, but then it becomes a routine and you barely have to think of it. It does a lot of wonders physically and mentally, I can assure you. You could try it with us sometime. I could help you get into it. As well as Gio, Elia and Luchino of course.”

Martino had to suppress a laugh at the suggestion, “I don’t think you understand what you’re proposing. We’re total disasters. We spend most PE classes at the bar near the school.”

“That’s a challenge then, I like challenges. Also, it could help me figure out if this is something I would see myself do in the future. You know the whole coaching thing.”

“Yeah right. It might deter you from ever doing it again though, I’m warning you,” he told him jokingly. “Thank you for proposing though, I’ll think about it.” Amir smiled at him. He didn’t know him well enough to decode his “I’ll think about it” as another way of saying “no thanks”. Amir would be an amazing coach, Martino had no doubt about it, but he wasn’t looking to put his body through torture any time soon. The only thing that could make it worthwhile was so he could observe Nico in all his glory as he runs, lifts, benches… Martino was getting a little sidetracked here. Speaking of the devil, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Nico was looking at him and Amir, probably curious as to what they were talking about.

Amir added after a brief silence, “... I think Nico would love it if you tried it once with us.”

Martino didn’t know what to respond to that. He was pretty sure that Amir suspected there was something going on between him and Nico – he couldn’t miss the way he’d been looking at them - but he didn’t know how much he knew. That’s when Nico decided to appear next to Marti out of nowhere, sitting really close to him.

“What are you two talking about? I thought I heard my name.” He had his biggest smile plastered on his face.

“No and it’s none of your business,” Amir retorted.

“Oh, come on, tell me,” Nico turned to Martino and looked at him with pleading eyes. It took the redhead a few seconds before he was able to speak again.

“No, you don’t need to know,” Marti told him, smug.

Nico pouted. It was so adorable, Martino wanted to kiss it away. He was sitting so close to him that he could feel the heat coming off of his body.

“Ahah look at these two dumbasses!” Amir’s voice made Martino reluctantly turn his head away from Nico. He followed Amir’s line of sight to find Elia chasing Luchino with a seaweed on the water edge. Luchino tripped and fell into the water, the waves swallowing him whole. Right as he emerged, Elia put the seaweed on his head which prompted a high-pitched scream from Luchi. But he wasn’t going to let Elia go without a fight, as he then went after him with two handfuls of wet sand.

Amir and Nico were snickering next to Marti, visibly entertained by his two best friends. Martino rolled his eyes – could they not behave like children for a whole two minutes? – but this was mostly to keep up a cool façade when in fact he would never trade his friends for the world. He turned to look at Nico who was looking at the two idiots with a hint of endearment in his eyes. This warmed Marti’s heart in a way he wouldn’t have expected.

“Guys, do you want to play or something?” Aurelio proposed to them right after he suppressed a yawn, lying on his towel with his hands under his head.

“To volleyball?” Gio asked him.

“Yeah. Or we could pass the ball in the water, as you want.”

“Yeah ok.”

“I’m in,” Nico told them. He turned to Martino and looked straight into his eyes before adding with a smug smile, “it will be like the day we met.”

Things like these should come with a warning. Martino was completely baffled by Nico’s words and by the way he was looking at him. Nico may think he was being subtle with this, but he was nothing but.

Marti and Nico were facing each other on each side of the net, _just like the day they met._ Nico kept grinning widely, his usual headshake particularly uncontainable, sometimes making silly faces at Martino. The latter had to try really hard not to be subdued into meeting him on the other side and crashing his lips on his.

This time the teams were mixed. Gio was in Nico’s team along with Aurelio and Luchino. While Martino was siding with Amir, Elia and Stefano. Gio and Nico found a great dynamic and kept scoring points; they never missed an opportunity to let it be known to the opposing team, cheering loudly and clasping their hands at each score. Amir was pretending to not be bothered by the fact his team was losing but it was clear his competitive fiber was buzzing under his skin, ready to burst out at any moment. It finally got the best of him and he scored a lot of points in just a few minutes, but it wasn’t enough to make their team win.

Gio and Nico clasped their hands once again, looking very pleased with themselves, before forming a group hug with Aurelio and Luchino.

“Nico, from now on, I’ll always be in your team!” Gio exclaimed, giving him a rigorous pat in the back.

“Gio, don’t forget where you come from. The victory is getting to you,” Elia snickered.

“Oooh don’t be jealous Eli,” Gio replied with a sugary tone to mock him, “you’re allowed to join us too.”

“Ok, what about me?” Martino had to say. After all, Gio was his best friend and Nico… his boyf-…, his boyfriend?

“Ok ok, what is it? I claimed Nico first, get yourself another one. I’ve got my power duo sorted, thank you very much,” Gio retorted. Nico was chuckling next to him with his whole body. He seemed to be enjoying the attention quite a bit. Martino wanted to tell Gio that he had no idea what he was talking about, and if somebody had a power duo sorted with Nico, it wasn’t him. But of course he couldn’t say that, not yet. The feeling of frustration was only ephemeral, however, because the thought of Gio and Nico getting along was enough to make him feel better about the situation. Even though Gio didn’t know who Nico was to him, he seemed to appreciate him a lot. It’s not like it was humanly possible to resist Nico’s natural charm and personality, Martino thought, but it meant a lot to him regardless.

Martino noticed Nico was glancing at him tentatively with his head bowed down and his lips drawn to the side. It seemed like he wanted to communicate something to him, but he wasn’t sure what. The desire to be alone with Nico had increased progressively during the game, now reaching an agonizing level. He couldn’t do it anymore. He had to have Nico for himself, only if for just a few minutes, only if for them to talk. Martino thought for a few minutes of a way out that wouldn’t sound any alarms. He blurted out the first flimsy excuse he could find:

 “Uhm guys, I forgot my money in the tent, so I can’t buy anything to eat and I’m starving. I’ll go get it now.”

“I can lend you some money if you want, it’s no problem,” Amir offered. Of course, Martino hadn’t thought of that possibility. It really was the lamest excuse ever found.

“Yeah, thank you, but I’d rather go the tent anyway, I don’t feel comfortable with the fact that it’s there and anyone can get in and take it,” Martino tried to sound as casual as possible, occupying himself by putting his shirt on. Martino glanced at Nico briefly so that he would get the message. He looked back at him with recognition in his eyes, opening his mouth right away to say he’ll accompany him to the campsite. Martino couldn’t miss the way Gio was looking at him as Nico put his shirt on, getting ready to go with him. He was frowning and his eyes seemed to have been replaced by one big question mark. Not only alarms were sounded, they were now flashing red lights all around Martino with the sound in full blast. It was too late to backtrack now. He might as well spend this long-awaited alone time with Nico – and deal with the consequences later.

“Ciao boys!” Nico waved as they started walking away.

“Ciao! We’ll meet in town, let us know when you’re there,” Amir told them.

“Sure!”

 

The whole 15-minute walk to the tent felt excruciatingly long, the longest it ever felt to Marti. He wanted to feel Nico’s skin, to feel his warmth under his fingers. But he had to wait a few more long minutes. They kept stealing glances and blushing like two smitten teenagers on their first date – it suddenly downed on Marti, he _was_ a smitten teenager (even though he’d be turning 18 this year, he definitely wasn’t an adult yet) and Nico _was_ his first boyfriend.

“How are you?” Martino asked him to try and distract himself, but also because he genuinely wanted to know.

“Pretty good,” Nico smiled softly, “what about you?”

“Pretty good,” Martino mirrored his words with a grin. He welcomed the sense of familiarity he felt whenever he was with Nico.

“Good thing you came up with an excuse by the way, I was searching for one, but nothing came up except for some of the most absurd excuses,” he chuckled.

“Yeah… it really is the worst excuse ever though, I don’t think they bought into at all, especially not Gio.”

“Did he… Do you think he suspects something?”

“I think he does,” Martino sighs, “he’s too perceptive not to. After the first day here he asked me about you. It was like he was fishing for information.”

“Really? What did he say?”

“He said that we seemed to get along and… that you’re really handsome,” Martino tried to act nonchalant as he said that, but the way his voice faltered on the last words gave him away.

Nico was looking at him with a smirk, “well… he’s right about one thing.”

“What’s that?” Martino sensed the trap but dove in anyway.

“I’m handsome indeed.”

“Pff asshole…”

Nico’s face broke into a huge smile as he chuckled, the tip of his tongue peaking out. He was obviously very pleased with himself.

“So, what did you and Amir talked about earlier?” Nico asked suddenly.

“You’re not going to let it go?”

“No… wouldn’t you want to know if I chatted with Gio and you weren’t there?” Nico retorted, leaning his head to the side.

“Ok… you’ve got a point,” Martino conceded.

“By the way, I would take you in my team,” Nico blurted out. Martino had a hard time keeping up with his train of thought.

“What?”

“You know, when Gio said he wanted to be in my team. I’m telling you that I’m choosing _you_ to be in my team. Gio can stay with us, of course.”

The smitten teenager in Marti wanted to blush and squirm at that revelation, but it’s teasing Martino that won this time, it was only fair payback after all, “Oh well, I thought for a second you had already forgotten about me and fell for Gio’s blue eyes.”

“Hmmm you’re not wrong, I would definitely fall for his eyes.” As it turns out, two could play this game.

“Oh really? Is that so?” Marti said with a fake incredulous voice.

“Yes. In fact, he’s top of my list among your friends,” Nico said without missing a beat.

“Ok, good to know! I’m glad this is out in the…”

“But see…” Nico interrupted him, “I’m already dating the cutest boy of the bunch so… I’m quite immune to Gio’s charms.”

This time, teasing Martino had a hard time staying on top. Blushing and lovesick Marti was really close to doing an apparition. He was left dumbfounded for a few seconds. “Uhm… I’m not doing too bad in that department either,” he told him with a smirk. They smiled at each other warmly as they were finally nearing the campsite.

 

They wrapped each other’s faces with their hands the moment they got into the privacy of the tent, their noses bumping. Nico whispers a soft “hey you” and Marti did the same in response, before they pressed their lips gently. Martino had a prickling feeling coursing all over him. Just like the day before, his lips were stretching into a smile he couldn’t contain. Nico’s eyes darted down to the mattresses sprayed over the tent. When he looked at Marti again, his eyes were scintillating with mischief.

“Which one is yours?”

“Are you eager or something?” Martino teased him. He gave him a little peck before taking his hand to lead him to the mattress on the far-right of the tent.

They sat on the edge of the single mattress staring fondly at each other in comfortable silence. Nico’s eyes swerved to Martino’s lips for a split second before he pushed him gently on his back and captured his lips into his. Marti unwillingly left a giggle escape his mouth. How embarrassing. Nico had his arms propped up on either side of Marti’s face, staring at him with bright eyes.

“It’s not exactly the comfiest spot to make out,” Martino chuckled. The mattress was narrow and made some squeaky noises with the slightest of movement. It also felt quite hot and sticky in the tent, the heat and moisture of four boys captured in its flimsy walls.

“It will do for now,” Nico responded with a head shake, seemingly unbothered. He leaned down to kiss his cheek and then added, “what’s your room like?”

“Uhm, quite… uh… basic.” Martino had a hard time focusing on the conversation when Nico turned to his other cheek to give him another soft kiss.

“Basic?” Nico snickered.

“Yes… I don’t know! It’s… sky blue with some wood, and… some posters.”

“Hmm Hmm,” Nico hummed in response. It was now his chin’s turn to be kissed. And then his closed eyelid. Nico was peppering his face with kisses, but he was taking his time with it. It made Martino melt into the mattress. He closed his eyes and let himself feel the emotions and the tenderness that poured out of each kiss. He was so out of it; he wasn’t expecting the sudden warm and wet sensation on his neck. Nico was now kissing his neck with an open mouth, the sensation and the sounds of suction weirdly comforting.

Martino reluctantly emerged from his haze to speak, “Ni?”

“Hmm?”

“I’ve figured out what you are.”

This made him interrupt his languorous kissing, “What?”

“You’re a vampire. Your ‘supernatural’ powers you were talking about yesterday. That’s because you’re a vampire.”

Nico chuckled, “do you presume vampires become vampires because they get struck by lightning?”

“Oh… yeah maybe not then.” Martino tried to come up with a comeback, but he was pretty much useless now. “I mean, what do I know right? Maybe our myths and legends got it wrong all this time?”

“Ok Marti. Let’s say I’m a vampire if it pleases you,” Nico grinned and resumed his attack on his neck.

Martino carded his fingers into Nico’s black curls, scratching his scalp gently. The sensation on his neck was incredible, but he missed his favorite green eyes so he drew Nico’s face back to his to look at him. His hair was gloriously messy, curls darting in all directions and strands peaking out like a porcupine, it made him chuckle.

“What is it?”

“You’re so cute,” Martino let out. He wasn’t even ashamed. Nico grinned so sweetly that he couldn’t be.

Martino craned his neck to capture his lips in a tender kiss and he pulled the hem of his shirt without barely thinking about it.

“Are you eager or something?” Nico repeated Marti’s words from before.

 “Shut up!” Martino retorted in a chuckle, “see, I’m used to seeing you half naked all the time, it would be a shame if I didn’t get to enjoy it on our private time.”

Marti pulled his shirt up completely and then let Nico do the same to him. Martino turned them around swiftly, now on top of Nico. Seeing Nico sprayed on his mattress, relaxed on his sheets, with his hair forming a messy halo around his face and his torso heaving made him feel things he couldn’t describe. He ran his fingertips on his smooth torso from the base of his neck to his low abdomen, a feathery light touch. Martino leaned to take his face in his hands and kiss him yet again. Their kisses turned hungrier, sucking into each other’s open mouths and their chests pressing into one another.

After a few minutes of heavy kissing, Martino laid next to Nico in the confine space – the left half of his body almost on top of Nico and their legs intertwined. Nico interlaced his fingers with Marti’s, periodically detangling them just to interlace them again right after, a hypnotic and relaxing motion.

“Can I ask you something?” Martino broke the comfortable silence.

“Of course.”

“Did you already have to hide a relationship from your friends?”

“No…” Nico stopped the movement of their hands to caress one of his fingers.

“And feelings?”

“Feelings… yes. Not necessarily romantic feelings though.”

“Ah… What do you mean exactly?” Martino looked up at Nico, taking his eyes away from their hands between them.

“Sometimes I feel so many things… too many things. It’s either I let it all out in an unstoppable flow or I keep it all to myself, because I’m afraid of overwhelming the people around me. And if I stop talking about how I feel, I’ll bottle it all up and… I’ll isolate myself. Which isn’t good obviously. I’ve been trying to find a balance… But that’s probably not the answer you were expecting.” Nico turned to him and gave him a reassuring smile. Marti saw in Nico’s eyes that this subject meant a lot to him, it made him want to reach out and comfort him.

“No, I mean… I kinda understand, I think?  I’m more of the bottling it all up type…” he sighs, “and I also realize it’s not really healthy.” He had been holding a lot of frustration and anger inside for a while, when his father left, when his mom’s depression felt like too much to handle for him alone… It’s only when he finally opened up to Gio about it that he was able to breathe again.

Nico was tracing circular motions on his palm, “right. If you leave a message in a bottle, it will be lost at sea. And it might never reach another island.”

Nico’s voice soothed Martino like a lullaby, he could fall asleep right then and there. The words he uttered weren’t quite reaching him in his zoned-out state, “was that a metaphor?”

“Yes,” Nico chuckled.

“I didn’t know you were a poet,” Marti said teasingly.

Nico shrugged, “I like poems.”

It didn’t really surprise Marti. He seemed to him that Nico was a sensitive and imaginative person, that he liked to reflect on and heighten day-to-day reality through creative activities. Martino, on the other hand, was much more down to earth and practical. But he loved to hear about Nico’s world inside his head and the way he perceived the things around him. Martino thought of Nico’s words about the message in a bottle, replaying them in his head to understand their implicit meaning.

“I want to tell Gio about it.”

Martino’s voice pulled him out his thoughts, “about it?”

“About us,” he said in a low voice.

Nico smiled at him. “That’s great. You’ll feel relieved after.”

“Do you want to tell Amir, Stefano and Aurelio about us?”

“… I already did,” Nico said hesitantly, looking sheepish. “I mean, they don’t know about yesterday, don’t worry. But they know I have a crush on you.”

“You… wait what?” This piqued Martino’s interest.

“Yeah. I told them right after we met for the first time, once we got back to the house. I guess it shows you how I can’t keep things in sometimes. I couldn’t help gushing about you. They’ve been teasing me about it every day since then.” Martino was dumbfounded, his mouth slightly agape from the revelation.

Nico added, poking Marti’s nose with his finger, “what can I say, you stole my heart.” He leaned in to capture his upper lip and pressed his lips gently. Martino chased his lips when he pulled away much too soon for his taste.

His curiosity got the best of him, “What didn’t you tell them about yesterday then?”

“Because, you’re not out. I want you to do that in your own time.” Martino nodded, his ‘thank you’ stuck in his throat. He knew he didn’t have to thank him, but he felt grateful nonetheless. Nico added, “trust me, they bombarded me with questions once we got back from Anzio, but I managed to resist.”

 

They made it to town a lot later than what a quick trip to the campsite would require. Martino was preparing himself for an onslaught of questions.

“Well look who decided to grace us with their presence,” Elia said mockingly when he spotted them.

“Sorry, we lost track of time,” Martino told the group. He didn’t miss the way Gio was looking at him. He probably was confused as to what Martino was up to these days. And he couldn’t really blame him.

“Yeah sorry, we stopped at a snack bar to eat something,” Nico added.

“Ok, good thing we didn’t wait for you to get something to eat,” Stefano said, more amused than anything.

“Oh, but we did wait at first, thank you for warning us Marti,” Elia said. He seemed a bit bitter.

“Chill Elia, we waited for what? 20 minutes? You’re not going to starve,” Gio retorted.

“Damn, you sound exactly like my mom,” Elia retorted. Gio responded by giving him a slap on the back of the neck.

They wandered around town for a while and Martino felt eyes on him all the time. He probably was being a bit paranoid, but he did catch Gio looking at him strangely a couple of times. Martino thought back to his conversation with Nico earlier – he wanted to tell him, the sooner the better.

 

Once they got back to the tent later, and Luchi and Elia went to take a shower, Gio asked Marti if he wanted to pass the ball around in the court. This was the perfect opportunity for Martino to open up to Gio. He could do it. He will finally do it.

They chatted lightly for a few minutes, and Martino was trying to find the strength to let the words he wanted to say out of his mouth. As he was searching for the right words to start this conversation, Gio beat him to it.

“You know…” he started, “you can always talk to me. About anything.” Gio had the ball and kicked it towards Marti.

“I know that. And I appreciate it.”

Gio nodded. Now was the time, he couldn’t backtrack. “Actually, there _is_ something I didn’t tell you,” Martino let out slowly, kicking the ball back to Gio.

“Yeah. What is that?” Gio encouraged him.

Marti felt his throat constricting. The ball was back at his feet already. _It’s Gio, you can tell him anything, he won’t judge_.

“I-” Martino swallowed with difficulty, “I have a thing for someone.”

“You do?” Gio hesitated before asking, “who is it?”

Martino bowed his head and threw the ball to Gio, “can’t you guess?”

“Uhmm… no I don’t know Marti.”

“Come on, you have to have some idea.” Martino tried to sound light but he was nothing but.

“Well… All I know is that you’ve been sneaking off with Nico a lot.”

Martino nodded shyly.

“It’s him?” Gio asked with wide open eyes.

“… Yes.” Gio still had the ball and didn’t throw it back. He didn’t say anything and stared at the ball his feet. Martino couldn’t read his expression and forgot to breathe for a minute.

He couldn’t wait for him to talk any longer, so he said “are you going to pass me the b-”

He couldn’t finish his sentence because Gio was rushing to him and enveloped him in his arms, hugging him in silence for a few seconds before saying “you little fucker” in a teasing tone.

“What?” Martino let out a chuckle of relief. He felt infinitesimally lighter he could fly.

Gio pulled back and ruffled his hair, “did _you_ really score the hottest guy in Fregene?”

Martino nodded with one of his uncontrollable lopsided grin on.

“Who would have thought that such shitty flirting skills could get you so much.”

“Fuck you Gio, you just don’t want to acknowledge I’m a better flirt than you,” Martino teased back. And it felt so good to do so.

“Hmmm no you’re not…but seriously, I’m really happy for you,” Gio said in a genuine tone. He was smiling softly at him. Martino had to contain the tears that were pooling at the corner of his eyes. He should never have doubted his best friend.

“Did you suspect?” Martino had to ask.

“Uhm… I was mostly very confused as to what was up with you. I did wonder about it… It’s difficult to miss the way Nico looks at you.” Martino blushed at that statement. “But really I didn’t know. I didn’t want to presume anything.” Martino nodded. “So, are you two dating or what?”

“Yes, I guess? It’s all going very fast. But for some reason it just feels right.”

“That’s great Marti. You deserve to have that.”

“Do you think I should tell Luchi and Elia?”

“Sure. I don’t see why you shouldn’t.”

“Do you think they’ll take it well?”

“Marti, it’s Elia and Luchino we’re talking about. Luchi might be ignorant but there’s not one ounce of negativity in his body. Elia might be surprised at first, but once he’ll get used to the idea, he’ll be your biggest supporter. Trust me.” Gio patted him on the back, smiling his reassuring smile yet again. Martino was very much inclined to believe him. Nothing could have reached him in this instant.

 

Gio and Marti went to shower in their turn, and then the four boys got ready to go out. They had decided to go to a club on the seafront with the other four boys. Gio put on some music and started jamming out to it. Elia and Luchi were finding 1001 ways to wear the tie Luchi had brought with him, each one more ridiculous than the last. Martino was rummaging in his bag to find one decent outfit. He put on his usual jean shirt with black pants first but then decided against it. He changed into a white button-up shirt with a Mandarin collar made up of a breathy material, and a pair of light jeans. This one would do.

“Oh look at you Marti!” Elia patted his cheeks teasingly, “who are you looking to impress?”

“No one,” Martino tried to suppress the smile that was tugging at his lips.

Elia shook his head, “no no no, not to me. You’re planning on catching females, is that it?”

“Yes, that’s it, Elia, you got me,” Martino fake sighed. Gio side-eyed him, stopping in the middle of his air drumming to the song that was playing.

“Wait no… correction,” Elia chuckled, nudging Luchino by his side, “you’ll just be standing there and wait for girls to come your way. Just like you always do.”

Martino responded with an exaggerated “ahahah”. He knew Elia liked to aggravate him and he wasn’t holding it against him. But it made Martino feel particularly phony and distant to get along with it this time.

“I’ll do that tonight,” Luchino said out of the blue.

“Do what?” Elia asked him.

“Stand there and wait for girls to come at me.” Elia, Martino and Gio snickered. “What? You always tell me I’m too desperate! So maybe that’s the solution.”

“Maybe, maybe,” Elia said through his chuckles, “but I thought you were saving yourself for Silvia?”

“I don’t know guys, sometimes I feel like she’ll never be into me.”

“Luchino, trust me, nobody is hopeless,” Gio grabbed his shoulder, glancing briefly at Martino.

 

The four of them went to the communal bathroom to look at their outfits and polish their appearance. It quickly turned into a mess of teasing and of bumping into one another as people would look at them weirdly. Gio perfumed Martino all over, some of it getting into his mouth and eyes. They got ahold of hair gel and undertook to give Luchino the most ridiculous hairstyles. They took a bunch of selfies to post to their social media accounts. Once they were finally ready, they made their way to the small grocery store to stock up in snacks and beers, before heading back to their tent.

“Oh, guys I forgot to tell you, Gio spotted a girl at the skate park this morning,” Elia told Marti and Luchino. They were sitting in a circle outside the tent.

“Shut up Eli,” Gio said exasperated.

“A real skater girl, you know, the kind that actually looks like a boy,” he snickered. It didn’t make Martino laugh at all.

Gio gesticulated, “and what’s your problem with that? She seemed nice.”

“I’m just saying, you might as well tell us if you’re into that kind of thing.”

“That kind of thing?” Gio repeated. He was looking more and more annoyed.

“Chill ok, I’m just joking around.”

“Honestly, I’d be into a skater girl,” Luchino added, quite oblivious to the awkward silence that was settling within the group.

Gio turned to Martino next to him and gave him his reassuring gaze. He could read in his eyes that he would support him if he wanted to tell them now. That he would be by his side no matter what.

“Uhm… guys?” Martino started.

“Yeah?” Elia responded, taking a sip of the beer he was holding.

“There’s something I’d like to talk to you about.”

“Ok, what is that?” Luchino prompted. He was munching on salty biscuits.

Martino looked at Gio briefly for reassurance, and then continued “I uh… you probably think I’ve been acting a bit strange since we got here.”

“Yes, we’ve noticed,” Elia confirmed.

“It’s because…” his eyes kept swinging between Luchino, Elia and his hands. “It’s because I like Nico. Actually, we have a thing.” Martino said it in one go.

“A thing?” Luchino stopped eating. “As in dating?”

“Yes, as in dating,” he confirmed in a low voice.

Elia looked like he had been struck by lightning. He wasn’t moving or making a sound. Gio smiled to Martino and grabbed his shoulder.

As for Luchino, he was still looking confused by the situation, “wait… but wasn’t Nico dating a girl before?”

“He was yes.”

“What does that make him then? Transsexual?”

“What?? Luchi no…” Gio said exasperated. Elia seemed to have come back to life, rolling his eyes at Luchi’s antics. Gio corrected “It’s bisexual, or pansexual, or… actually it doesn’t matter. Marti likes Nico and Nico likes Marti, end of the story.”

“Oh okay, that’s cool,” Luchi seemed satisfied with this information, smiling and resuming his munching. He didn’t seem to be bothered by the fact at all.

Martino searched for Elia’s eyes who was looking down and seemed to be deep in thought. Probably sensing Marti’s eyes on him, he looked up and gave Marti a small smile. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to.

“So, are you all ready to get wild tonight?” Gio stood up and increased the volume of the music. The boys resumed their talk and shenanigans like nothing had changed. The weight Martino had been carrying on his shoulders for a long time seemed to have evaporated into the clear sky of the still summer night.

 

“Let’s drink to our vacation in Fregene!” Aurelio exclaimed as the eight boys raised their glass in unison. They were standing near the bar of a crowded club, one of the preferred night spots for students and young people in Fregene. Martino felt the loud music pulsating inside of him. He looked around him and all he could see was a blur of hair and limbs, moving to the rhythm of the music he could feel in his core. He turned his gaze to Nico who was standing next to him. He looked so happy and excited, it made Martino feel the same way.

“Okay next, let’s drink to… new friendships!” this time it was Gio’s turn to exclaim, prompting the boys to cheer loudly and take another big gulp of their drink.

“Okay Okay my turn,” Luchino said. He thought of what he was about to say for a bit, looking around the group, his gaze stopping at Marti. “Ah yes, let’s drink… to new romances!”

“Wait what? I’m not aware of this,” Amir interjected before anyone could make a movement.

Nico seemed completely confused by the situation and looked at Martino questioningly. Martino told him quietly, “I told them.”

“You did?” His eyes lit up even more than before. Martino nodded.

“You told them what?” asked Amir, looking suspicious.

Martino glanced at Nico to make sure this was ok, before stating “… that we’re together.”

Loud cheers and an indescribable commotion followed that revelation. Amir went to hug Nico and ruffled his hair, and the rest of the boys followed suit. Martino was tossed in a sea of embraces, bumps, taps and shakes. In the chaos, he would only catch glimpses of Nico’s dark curls and green eyes, but his laughter was ringing louder than the rest. The six boys were encircling Marti and Nico in some sort of a group hug. Martino felt more than he saw his best friends next to him, and there was no point in trying to control the sheer happiness that took over him in that moment.

“Hear me out, hear me out!” Amir called for the attention of the group again. He raised his glass, the rest of the group doing the same, “let’s drink to Marti and Nico!” And the group to repeat in unison “to Marti and Nico!” Then Gio, Elia and Luchino started chanting “Marti-Nico, Marti-Nico…” faster and faster. Amir, Aurelio and Stefano soon joined in. Usually, Marti would have hated his best friends for bringing attention to him in this way, but this time he couldn’t bring himself to care.

They transferred to the dancefloor and Nico tried to get Marti to dance with him. The latter couldn’t do more than bumping his head to the beat and swaying from side to side, but Nico’s infectious smile made it all more enjoyable. Being with Nico in public was still very new to him, he wouldn’t allow himself more than a few small touches – a brush of their hands, a hand on his waist to push him away from obnoxious dancers, a lingering stare – even though it was pitch dark in the club and nobody would have noticed. Marti tried to convey through his eyes how liberated and happy he felt.

He heard the first lines of a familiar song sounding over the speakers. He hadn’t heard this song in ages.

“Buon viaggio  
Che sia un'andata o un ritorno  
Che sia una vita o solo un giorno  
Che sia per sempre o un secondo”

Nico recognized it too and started singing to the lyrics as he got closer to Marti and made him sway with him.

“L'incanto sarà godersi un po' la strada  
Amore mio comunque vada  
Fai le valigie e chiudi le luci di casa”

Nico’s voice was faint in the noise of the club, but it was enough to make Martino feel things to his stomach. He always thought it was an over popular cheesy song, but it was like he was able to listen to the lyrics for the very first time, with Nico looking at him in this way and singing the words to him. Nico got even closer, he leaned forward and whispered the following lyrics to Martino’s hear, tickling his hear in the process:

“E per quanta strada ancora c'è da fare  
Amerai il finale  
Share the love, share the love  
Share the love, share the love”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading :)  
> As always, any feedback is appreciated.  
> Come chat with me on Tumblr @probablydaydreamingg

**Author's Note:**

> Stay tuned for next chapters ! I would love to hear what you thought of that first chapter :)


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